ST. CLOUD -- After just over a one year of being open in St. Cloud, JL Beers will be closing its doors at the end of the month. Owner Lance Thorson says the burger and beer joint's last day being open will be Saturday, May 27. Thorson says the closure is a result of several frustrations with the city.

"The biggest things are parking and safety downtown. We've tried to work with the city in many different forms and it just seems there isn't a lot of response and attention to these matters," says Thorson.

St. Cloud City Administrator Matt Staehling says several downtown businesses have addressed construction concerns, but the issues from JL Beers come as a surprise.

"We haven't heard anything recently. We haven't heard of any struggles or challenges they've had which they need our assistance on. It's really coming out of the blue," says Staehling.

St. Cloud Downtown Council President Pegg Gustafson released this statement about the closing of JL Beers saying...

The Downtown Council has worked with Thorson and the city to try and resolve some of the issues JL Beers faced as well as other businesses in downtown. Our organization will continue to work with all of the downtown businesses and with the City of St. Cloud to create the most healthy business climate possible. JL Beers made a significant investment in an historic building.  It is unfortunately that they will be closing. We will miss them as engaged members of the DTC and hope they will return.

JL Beers’ corporate headquarters is based out of Fargo. The restaurant has three other locations in the state including restaurants in Burnsville, Moorhead and Minneapolis.

JL Beers Downtown St. Cloud (Richard Leguil, WJON)
JL Beers Downtown St. Cloud (Richard Leguil, WJON)
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