ST PAUL, Minn. — A Grand Avenue fixture is taking a seasonal sabbatical, locking its doors for the winter to stop the financial bleeding caused by COVID and a spike in crime.
Billy's on Grand made the announcement in a post on the bar-restaurant's Facebook page Wednesday. Ownership says they will close for the season Oct. 31., but did not list a date for reopening.
"A lot has been thrown our way this year. The change in ownership and bringing on Chef Jeremy at the beginning of the year was incredibly exciting," the post reads. "But of course, we all know what happened when March came along. COVID has paralyzed our industry in ways that we could not expect. On top of a worldwide pandemic, we’ve dealt with unique challenges in our neighborhood late at night, and despite our vigilant efforts to seek help from the city, we were denied additional support which cost us dearly."
St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders tells KARE 11 that the owners of Billy's on Grand did reach out to the department, and said police tried to work with the business to address their concerns. "We proposed solutions that had worked at other bars in the city (e.g. closing earlier), we connected with our partners in the Department of Safety and Inspections (which we do any time a business needs assistance) and we committed to having a more robust presence at the bar," Linders wrote in an email.
Linders provided statistics showing the St. Paul police made just one "proactive visit" to the bar in 2018, seven proactive visits in 2019, and 20 proactive stops through Oct. 29 of this year. He says the one thing owners asked for that the department could not comply with is to supply off-duty officers to provide security. Linders says that is against department policy.
Statistics provided by the department also reflect that officers have responded to more than 60 calls for service from Billy's on Grand through Oct. 29 of this year, about double the calls police responded to in 2019.
For their part, Billy's said the "difficult decision" to close for winter was made in an effort to protect the business and recover economically.
"We appreciate your continued support and from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU," the post ends.