Council vote expected April 10

A Minnetonka liquor store is saying this block isn’t big enough for the both of us.

A representative of The Tonka Bottle Shop on the northwest corner of Minnetonka Boulevard and Highway 101 joined others in arguing against the issuance of an off-sale liquor license to service The Wine Shop, a proposed wine store to be built on the southeast corner of that same block.

Chris Eriksson of C & R Partners, the company that is proposing to build The Wine Shop on the former location of Lakewind Natural Foods, defended the project, which would ultimately include a wine store and a wine bar that serves food. The public hearing during the Minnetonka City Council’s March 27 meeting focused specifically on the wine store portion of the proposal.

Arguing against issuance of the license, Rick Stellmach of the Tonka Bottle Shop maintained that The Wine Shop would boost the number of off-sale liquor stores in Minnetonka to an unacceptable limit. “I’m opposed to the store,” he said. “We have a regulated industry.”

If granted, The Wine Shop would hold the 11th off-sale liquor license in the city.

Minnetonka Community Development Director Ron Rankin said this city, unlike Minneapolis and St. Paul, does not dictate how many off-sale liquor licenses can be granted based on the city’s population.

“The only criteria that might come into play,” he said, “is proximity to schools, churches, etc.”

Rankin said The Wine Shop would be located 680 feet from Groveland Elementary School, 400 feet closer to the school than the Tonka Bottle Shop.

Nearby resident Jack Spillane worried about the store’s side-by-side proximity to Snuffy’s, a popular hamburger restaurant among young people. “Putting [it] next to a hangout for kids; that’s one more reason not to do it,” he said.

Rankin said the city has received nearly 90 phone calls and e-mails from residents, two thirds of whom argue against The Wine Shop’s effort to acquire an off-sale license.

But Chris Eriksson methodically defended the store as a destination for fine wine, not liquor. “Eighty-five percent of our inventory will be wine,” he said. “Only 7 percent of our inventory will be gift items, beer or high end liquor.”

Eriksson said The Wine Shop would compete against the Tonka Bottle Shop in the sale of wine, not in other forms of alcohol. “If we succeed, there was demand,” he said. “If we fail, it was our loss. Not the city’s loss, our loss.”

The public hearing will continue at the Minnetonka City Council’s next meeting on April 10 and a vote is expected to follow.