Minneapolis Property Taxes Skyrocket. This is Why We Can’t Have Grumpy Things

Grumpy’s, a dive-bar staple in downtown Minneapolis, is closing for good today. The bar has been a mainstay on Washington Ave since it opened in 1999. But a lot has changed in the nearly 20 years since the bar opened.

The owner of Grumpy’s had this to say about the closure, according to an article in the Star Tribune:

“There’s been a thousand paper cuts like a few hundred food trucks roaming downtown daily, property taxes being ten times what they were when we opened, a building in need of overwhelming repair, etc. etc. etc., and it is what it is. We’re throwing in the towel and yes it hurts. Any of you inclined to pile on, just don’t. …It’s been a great run, and to all of you who supported us, we can’t thank you enough. We are humbled.”

Things change.  Markets shifted and people embraced food trucks. Buildings depreciate over time, and new apartment buildings are built in their place. But the fact that the owner cited property taxes rising ten times higher than they were in 1999 should be of concern.

As the City continues to fund underwhelming, $50 million projects like the Nicollet Mall, promises to spend $40 million on housing, increases taxes by $18.7 million, and Minneapolis city officials grapple with what to do with, and how to pay for, the growing encampment of homeless people living in the City, it must ultimately find a way to pay for all of these additional expenses.

Their solution is to raise property taxes. People want to blame developers for building apartment buildings, but rising property taxes steadily erode the foundation on which small businesses are built.

This is why we can’t have Grumpy things.