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Judge deals blow to Grutman, Soffer’s Story nightclub

Miami Beach ordinance banning alcohol sales after 2 a.m. in the South of Fifth neighborhood upheld in court 

From left: Groot Hospitality's David Grutman and Fontainebleau Development's Jeffrey Soffer with 124-136 Collins Avenue
From left: Groot Hospitality's David Grutman and Fontainebleau Development's Jeffrey Soffer with 124-136 Collins Avenue (Google Maps, Getty)

Updated: March 15, 5:40 p.m.

Alcohol will stop flowing at 2 a.m. at David Grutman and Jeffrey Soffer’s Story nightclub in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth. 

Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Reemberto Diaz on Tuesday issued a decree that allows the city to enforce its ordinance to roll back booze sale hours from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. in the Miami Beach neighborhood, the Miami Herald reported. Commissioners had approved the regulation at their Feb. 22 meeting, making an exception for businesses that have a capacity of no more than 100 guests. 

The 17,000-square-foot Story, the neighborhood’s biggest venue with five bars and 60 VIP tables, sued the city over the ban, alleging that the carve-out for smaller bars shows the nightclub is being illegally singled out and targeted. 

In issuing his decree, Diaz relied on a past court ruling on a 2016 Hialeah case that determined that local government ordinances should be overturned only if there isn’t a “conceivable” basis for them, the Herald reported. 

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Story plans to appeal. But in the meantime it could suffer a blow to its business, as rapper Sheck Wes is expected to perform in the early morning hours on Wednesday. 

The court on Wednesday allowed for a 30-day stay on enforcement of the alcohol sale hours rollback, allowing Story some time to pursue its appeal.

The lawsuit is among many skirmishes pitting commissioners who want Miami Beach to shed its anything goes party image against nightclub and bar owners who argue ordinances like the booze ban are detrimental to their businesses. 

The Story building at 124-136 Collins Avenue has been a nightclub for years, previously called Opium Garden and then Amnesia. Grutman, through his Groot Hospitality, opened Story in 2012 and runs the business with Soffer. 

In March, shortly after Story sued the city, Soffer’s Fontainebleau Development purchased the nightclub’s building for $23 million. 

– Lidia Dinkova