South of Fifth in Miami Beach will resume last call until 5 a.m. after ban is lifted

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  • Published on March 16, 2023
  • Last Updated May 15, 2023
  • In Culture

Tuesday, a judge ruled in favor of reducing the alcohol sales cutoff time from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday, however, the ban was postponed for 30 days.

As previously reported by Detour, after many ongoing efforts by Miami Beach officials to resolve complaints about nightlife from locals, it was decided that the last call for alcohol in some areas of South Beach would be changed from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. The last call shift was set to take effect within the next day or so, after the ruling, according to the city’s mayor.

According to a representative for Story nightclub, a Miami-Dade County judge has now approved a temporary halt to the planned ban, allowing Miami Beach nightclubs to continue to serve alcohol until 5 a.m. throughout the spring break period.

Documents from Miami-Dade County Court show that the company filed a motion on Wednesday to delay enforcement of the city ordinance until after March 27, when spring break travel is at its busiest.

According to the club’s spokesperson, Judge Reemberto Diaz of the Miami-Dade Circuit Court granted the motion at a hearing on Wednesday afternoon, effectively blocking the new city ordinance for 30 days.

CNN reported that in the motion, attorneys explained business “will suffer substantial and irreparable harm the moment the challenged ordinance takes effect.”

“Behind Story, what you would find is an ecosystem of hundreds of hospitality workers who depend on the club for their livelihoods,” Sean Burstyn, attorney for Story Nightclub, said in a statement to the outlet. “Enforcement of the ordinance meant unemployment for these people. Story is in business, and we are confident that Story will prevail in court,” the statement continued.

This is the most recent example of tension between those who want quiet and those who desire the city’s thriving club scene. Last year, when violence and misbehavior broke out on the beach during spring break, lawyers for the Clevelander hotel effectively halted a ban on alcohol in South Beach nightclubs after 2 a.m.

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