Who sets last call, how a Minneapolis on-sale license works, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that fill the city, for anyone running a club, lounge or bar in Minneapolis.
What the State of Minnesota and the City of Minneapolis ask of a licensed room, from the end of service to the door. Liquor licenses come from the City of Minneapolis, Business Licenses.
Minneapolis ends on-sale service at 1 a.m., an hour earlier than the state’s 2 a.m. limit. A venue that holds the state permit for 1 to 2 a.m. sales may serve until 2 a.m. Guests may finish drinks for 30 minutes after service ends, then alcohol must be cleared from tables and bars, and the room closes to the public. Live entertainment, singing or dancing can’t run past 2 a.m. under any license. Sunday service is only for hotels and restaurants, with food.
Since October 2025 every on-sale establishment must provide alcohol server training, in a format and from a provider the City’s licensing official approves. The state has no general server training rule.
MoreThe code gives no hours, renewal period or provider list, and none turned up on the City’s pages, so ask Business Licenses what they accept.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)Selling or giving alcohol to anyone under 21 is unlawful. Accepted proof is a driver’s license or ID card with a photo and date of birth from any state or Canadian province, a U.S. military ID, a U.S. passport, an instructional permit with photo, or a foreign passport.
MoreGood-faith reliance on those IDs is a defense. Staff may seize a falsified ID and must hand it to police within 24 hours. No one under 18 may serve alcohol.
Source: Minnesota Revisor of StatutesGuards supplied by a security company work under a protective agent license. A venue that employs guards only on its own property needs no license, but must fingerprint each guard and run a criminal history check before guard duty.
MoreA new hire is a conditional employee, who can train but not guard, until the report comes back. The City has no separate door staff license and no headcount rule in the sections read.
Source: Section 326.338State law has no bar or nightclub category, so a Minneapolis bar is licensed as a restaurant: meals prepared on site, seating for at least 25, and a substantial share of income from food. A full menu is offered all hours except the last two.
MoreNightclubs and adult entertainment businesses are only allowed downtown. Near homes, a new license goes only to a restaurant with a bar area of no more than 30% of the public space.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)Each on-sale license carries one level: general entertainment, which allows all legal entertainment and patron dancing; limited, which allows live music, karaoke or a DJ with no dancing; or none, which allows radio, television, recorded music and a jukebox.
MoreThe council can limit days, hours and volume. A change of level needs a new application. Venues with general entertainment must offer free earplugs once the City names a supplier.
Source: City of MinneapolisA license covers only the premises named in it, and a move means a new application. The applicant must be the actual owner of the premises or business, a Minnesota resident, with no felony in the last five years and no revocation in the last five.
MoreThe council can attach conditions such as hours, entrances, a patron limit and under-21 admission. A new license must open within one year.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)Amplified music is measured inside the complainant’s home, windows closed: 10 dB(C) above ambient by day and 5 dB(C) above at night is a violation. Sound outside above the state limits and 5 dB(A) over ambient is also a violation.
MoreOutdoor amplified sound needs a permit from the health commissioner. Without one, sound plainly audible 100 feet from the property line is a violation. The license holder must monitor sound levels.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)No on-sale or service of liquor, wine or beer between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday to Saturday. With the state permit, service runs to 2 a.m.
MoreThe state permit is a separate one-year permit, so it doesn’t come with the City license.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)Only hotels and restaurants may serve liquor from 8 a.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Monday, in conjunction with food. State law allows 2 a.m. with the state permit.
MoreA bar that is neither a restaurant nor a hotel can’t sell on Sunday.
Source: Minnesota Revisor of StatutesNo one may drink on the premises from 1:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., or from 2:30 a.m. with the state permit. Alcohol must be removed from tables and bars, and only staff may remain to clean.
MoreThe room is closed to the public from 1:30 to 5 a.m. (2:30 to 5 a.m. with the state permit) unless it holds a special late-hours food license.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)The City of Minneapolis issues the on-sale license, and the state adds a permit only for sales from 1 to 2 a.m. The steps run in this order.
Ask City zoning staff before you sign a lease. Nightclubs are only allowed downtown.
Source: City of MinneapolisSource: City restaurant guideA business licensing inspector walks you through the process. The business can’t open until the license is issued.
Source: City of MinneapolisA business plan, a safety plan the local police precinct reviews, a floor plan, a menu, a sound plan where needed, food plan review and proof of liquor liability insurance.
Source: City of MinneapolisSource: City restaurant guideSource: Section 340A.409File with Business Licenses and pay the fees. The police license inspector investigates the statements in the application.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)A new license for premises not yet licensed for music, dancing or live entertainment needs a public hearing. Residents and property owners within 600 feet of the main entrance get notice.
Source: City of Minneapolis (Municode)The Business, Inspections and Zoning committee and then the City Council decide. The City says approval may take 8 to 10 weeks.
Source: City on-sale pageSource: City of MinneapolisTo serve from 1 to 2 a.m., apply separately to the state for the permit. Its fee depends on the venue’s on-sale receipts in the previous 12 months.
Source: Minnesota Revisor of StatutesIssued by the City of Minneapolis, Business Licenses
General information, not legal advice. Laws and license conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the City or the state Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division before acting on it.
How a table’s bill adds up once tax and a service charge are on it, and what guests pay at the door.
| Minimum spend | $1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 20%, added by the venue | $200.00 |
| Sales taxes and state liquor tax 11.525% of both lines | $138.30 |
| Guest pays | $1,338.30 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
A bar or club sale inside Minneapolis pays 9.025% in combined sales taxes, plus the 2.5% state liquor tax on on-sale liquor, which is 11.525% on drinks. This worked example uses that rate.
Source: Minnesota Department of RevenueInside the downtown taxing area the on-sale liquor rate is 14.525%, because of a 3% downtown liquor tax. A 2026 bill proposed to expand that area, so check the boundary for your address.
Source: Minnesota Department of RevenueLive entertainment adds 3% on food and drink sold during a performance. Cover and minimum charges and admissions carry the 3% entertainment tax. A DJ playing recorded music doesn’t count as live entertainment.
Source: Minnesota Department of RevenueWhether a mandatory service charge on a bar or club tab is taxable is not confirmed. For hotel banquet rooms, Minneapolis liquor and restaurant taxes do apply to mandatory tips and service charges, so the example taxes the charge too. Ask the Department of Revenue.
Source: Minnesota Department of RevenueA mandatory charge counts as a tip owed to staff unless the venue gives the guest clear notice that it is not.
Source: Section 177.23Rough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
$10 to $30
Typically about $20
No Minneapolis club publishes a club night price on its own page, so this is generalised from the published club night prices in the Atlanta and Nashville guides. Headliner and holiday nights cost more.
$300 to $900
A typical table, about $500
No Minneapolis nightclub publishes a table minimum on its own page, so this is generalised from mid-size US markets such as Atlanta and Nashville. Two adult entertainment clubs publish bottle packages from $275 to $1,200, which fit inside it. Before tax and a customary 20% gratuity.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Hourly wages for the roles a night runs on, and the rules on tips.
| Role | Range, low to high | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Bartenders$11.13 to $20.90 | $13.27 | |
| Servers$11.18 to $20.81 | $12.46 | |
| Hosts$12.88 to $20.41 | $14.71 | |
| Security and door$17.13 to $31.35 | $20.88 | |
| Cooks$16.98 to $23.15 | $19.06 | |
| Managers$27.55 to $50.46 | $38.38 |
Minimum wage $11.41 an hourSource: U.S. Department of Labor
Bar: lowest to highest wage reported. Dot: median. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The state minimum wage is $11.41 an hour and applies outside Minneapolis. Minneapolis sets a higher city minimum, indexed each year, so check the City’s minimum wage page for the current rate.
Source: U.S. Department of LaborMinnesota has no tip credit: an employer may not count gratuities toward the minimum wage, so tipped staff earn the full minimum before tips.
Source: Section 177.24A gratuity belongs to the employee. An employer may not require staff to share tips with the employer or put them in a pool, though staff may share voluntarily. So there is no mandatory tip pool.
Source: Section 177.24Tips paid by card must be credited to the pay period they were received in, and the full amount of the tip goes to the employee by the next scheduled pay period. The law doesn’t mention card processing fees.
Source: Section 177.24
The nights that fill a room, or empty it, month by month.
The morning after New Year’s Eve, with recovery trade and brunch.
A long weekend.
Winter events that bring visitors downtown in the slowest months.
Official siteA watch-party night for sports bars.
A long weekend.
A heavy bar night whatever weekday it lands on.
Home games at Target Field bring pre- and post-game trade.
A long weekend and the start of summer.
Summer game nights downtown.
The busiest LGBTQ+ nightlife weekend of the year, around a free festival.
Official siteA fireworks night and a long weekend.
A late-summer visitor surge across the Twin Cities, stronger for bars near transit than late at night.
Official siteThe last long weekend of summer, with football starting.
Home-game trade on Sundays.
A long weekend.
Game nights through the cold months, with Wild watch parties.
A costume weekend before or after the night itself.
The night before is a heavy bar night for people home for the holiday.
A slow night for most rooms.
The biggest single night for clubs.
Minneapolis’s nightlife districts and the rooms each is known for.
A neighborhood with a busy nightlife, shops and inventive restaurants.
Plenty of restaurants, bars and shops near the Chain of Lakes.
Dive bars, local art and breweries.
Theaters, live music venues, hotels, shopping and dining.
A college bar atmosphere, with the Kollege Klub and Blarney Pub & Grill.
Ranked by monthly Google searches in the United States for each venue’s name with the city, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site or the tourism board shows open are listed.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ground ZeroClubNortheast Minneapolis · 15 SE 4th StSource: Search estimatesSource: Ground Zero | Fri and Sat, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. | Themed dance nights with DJs | Not listed | 1,500 |
| 2 | The SaloonClubDowntownSource: Search estimatesSource: The Saloon | Daily, to 3 a.m. Fri and Sat | Dance floor | Not listed | 700 |
| 3 | AvaLoungeNorth Loop and Warehouse DistrictSource: Search estimatesSource: Ava | Wednesday to Saturday | Disco lounge | Not listed | 600 |
| 4 | Sneaky Pete'sClubDowntown · 14 North 5th StSource: Search estimatesSource: Sneaky Pete's | Tuesday to Sunday, to 2 a.m. | Not listed | Not listed | 100 |
| 5 | The Basement BarClubNorth Loop and Warehouse District · 511 N Washington AveSource: Search estimatesSource: The Basement Bar | Thursday to Saturday | DJs and dancing | Not listed | 50 |
| 6 | Gidi Bar and LoungeLoungeNorth Loop and Warehouse DistrictSource: Search estimatesSource: Gidi Bar and Lounge | Fri and Sat, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. | Afrobeats | Not listed | 30 |
Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Who lives in the city. These describe Minneapolis and its area, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
The state minimum wage is $11.41 an hour and applies outside Minneapolis. Minneapolis sets a higher city minimum that is indexed each year, so check the City’s minimum wage page for the current rate. In the Minneapolis metro area, BLS data for May 2025 puts the median bartender wage at $13.27 an hour, and the metro includes suburbs where only the state minimum applies.
Minneapolis ends on-sale service at 1 a.m. Monday to Saturday. A venue with the state permit for 1 to 2 a.m. sales may serve until 2 a.m. Guests may drink until 1:30 a.m., or 2:30 a.m. with the permit, and the room is then closed to the public. Live entertainment and dancing can’t run past 2 a.m.
A bar or club sale in Minneapolis pays 9.025% in combined sales taxes, plus the 2.5% state liquor tax on on-sale liquor, which is 11.525% on drinks. Inside the downtown taxing area the on-sale liquor rate is 14.525%. Live entertainment adds 3%, and cover and minimum charges carry the 3% entertainment tax.
Check zoning, meet a license inspector, prepare the business, safety and floor plans with proof of liquor liability insurance, then file with Business Licenses. A new entertainment venue needs a public hearing, and the committee and City Council decide. The City says approval may take 8 to 10 weeks. Serving from 1 to 2 a.m. takes a separate state permit.
No. An employer may not count gratuities toward the minimum wage, so tipped staff earn the full minimum before tips. Minnesota also has no mandatory tip pool: a gratuity belongs to the employee, and staff may share tips only voluntarily.
Not confirmed for a bar or club tab. For hotel banquet rooms, Minneapolis liquor and restaurant taxes apply to mandatory tips and service charges. A mandatory charge also counts as a tip owed to staff unless the venue gives clear notice that it isn’t, so ask the Department of Revenue before treating it as untaxed.
Yes. Since October 2025 every on-sale establishment must provide alcohol server training in a format and from a provider the City’s licensing official approves. The code gives no hours or provider list, and the state has no general server training rule.
Amplified music is measured inside the complainant’s home with windows closed: 10 dB(C) above ambient by day and 5 dB(C) above at night is a violation. Outdoor amplified sound needs a permit from the health commissioner, and without one, sound plainly audible 100 feet from the property line is a violation.
Guards supplied by a security company work under a protective agent license. A venue that employs guards only on its own property needs no license, but must fingerprint each guard and run a criminal history check before guard duty. The City has no separate door staff license.
Only hotels and restaurants may serve liquor on Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday, in conjunction with food, and to 2 a.m. with the state permit. A bar that is neither a restaurant nor a hotel can’t sell on Sunday.
A driver’s license or ID card with a photo and date of birth from any state or Canadian province, a U.S. military ID, a U.S. passport, an instructional permit with photo, or a foreign passport. Good-faith reliance is a defense, and staff may seize a falsified ID and hand it to police within 24 hours.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
New YorkNew York, United States
Closing time, getting an SLA liquor license, temporary permits, the noise code, sales tax on service charges, door staff, wages and the year’s big nights.
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MiamiFlorida, United States
The state closing default and city hours, quota and restaurant liquor licenses, City of Miami and Miami Beach business licenses, sales and resort tax, door licensing, wages and the year’s big nights.
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ChicagoIllinois, United States
Closing times and the Late Hour license, the City and state liquor licenses, the amusement license and tax, BASSET training, sales tax, the tipped wage and the year’s big nights.
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