Miami Beach passes alcohol restriction for South Beach neighborhood
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Rapper T.I. performs at Story nightclub in Miami Beach's South of Fifth neighborhood in 2017. Photo: Thaddaeus McAdams/WireImage
Last call will come sooner for some South Beach bars after the City Commission voted to restrict alcohol sales in the South of Fifth neighborhood.
What’s happening: Bars and other businesses that have a license to serve alcohol until 5am will be required to stop serving drinks at 2am, but smaller bars with occupancy loads of 100 or fewer people can continue serving until 5am.
- Commissioners signaled that they wanted to crack down on large nightlife businesses, like Story nightclub, while protecting neighborhood bars like Ted’s Hideaway and The Scapegoat.
Why it matters: The ordinance is the first major piece of legislation restricting alcohol sales since Miami Beach voters passed a referendum in 2021 calling for the citywide 5am last call to be rolled back.
- Commissioners – who are attempting to tamp down South Beach’s nightlife scene, especially in residential neighborhoods – also voted Wednesday to restrict outdoor alcohol sales after 2am in the West Avenue neighborhood in South Beach.
- “A good step towards getting rid of the anything-goes party, but only a single step. Voters expect us to address the rest of South Beach,” Mayor Dan Gelber told Axios in a statement.
Yes, but: A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge rejected the city’s previous attempts to restrict alcohol sales in South Beach over the past two years, ruling that the commission did not properly vote on the legislation, according to a legal analysis by the city attorney’s office.
- City officials said they expected the South of Fifth legislation would be challenged in court, and a Story spokesperson told the Miami Herald that the club "will be using all legal remedies in our power to protect our business."
- The commission properly voted with a 5-7 vote in compliance with the judge’s ruling, but city attorney Rafael Paz said imposing exceptions for smaller bars makes the legislation more difficult to defend.
The other side: Mickey Marrero, an attorney representing Story, said the ordinance would put the nightclub out of business and lead to layoffs.
- He said the club has not had any noise violations in recent years, but acknowledged it has had issues in the past under previous management.
- “It brings international acts to Miami Beach without creating any noise violations – without having any significant violations in many years,” he said.