Bob CollinsAnarchy reigned in Mankato, Minn., for a short time last week before authorities stepped in to curb the scourge of outdoor dining without enough live plants in the vicinity.
The Mankato Times reports police shut down the patio at Blue Bricks on Front Street last week after they determined there weren’t enough flowers nearby.
In Mankato, 25 percent of the area around patio dining has to have at least 25 percent live plants.
“My managers told me that City of Mankato Associate Civil Engineer Landon Bode came into Blue Bricks on Thursday during lunch hour and told the servers that we did not have enough flowers on our patio and we were out of compliance with the City,” owner Marty Lewis said. “After the lunch crowd cleared, my managers went up to Drummers and picked up some shrubs, planters and hanging baskets and put them on the patio.”
City Manager Pat Hentges says the ordinance is to “make sure the patios don’t become drinking corrals,” according to the Star Tribune. He said the patio is on city property.
The patio has since reopened.
