Sarah Kloepple
Tropical Liqueurs' liquor license will be terminated April 9.
A year after signing a lease in Soulard, Tropical Liqueurs lost its liquor license in a battle with neighbors who accused patrons of the boozy slushie joint of littering, drug use, noise, and other disturbances.
St. Louis City Excise Division Hearing Officer Tom Yarbrough decided Thursday that Tropical Liqueurs, known as Trops, will have its license terminated on April 9. The decision notes that there is “no finding of fault, negligence or failure of responsibility by Tropical Liqueurs.”
Co-owner Billy Thompson says he wants to stay in St. Louis and find a new way to sell his alcoholic slush drinks, which include Tiger Paw (peach schnapps, rum, pineapple and orange juice) and Island Punch (vodka, triple sec, hawaiian punch, orange juice and lemonade.)
See also: Tropical Liqueurs Brings Frosty, Flavorful Drinks to Soulard
“The people of St. Louis have been overwhelmingly supportive, and we will find a way continue to offer Trops to the community,” said Thompson, who owns the bar with his brother Bradlee Thompson and sister Connie Vaughan. He added, “Unfortunately, the time has come for us to start making decisions for the future.”
Supporters of Trops, which has locations in Columbia and Springfield, quickly began suggesting new neighborhoods that would be more welcoming to the bar’s unique concept, including The Grove neighborhood and Cherokee Street. Thompson says the city’s decision doesn’t sour him on St. Louis as a whole.
“Absolutely, we want to stay in St. Louis,” Thompson tells the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
On Facebook, Trops owners say they want to stay in the ‘Lou.
“We are looking to the future and will find a way to keep Trops in St. Louis,” the bar posted online.
Thirty of the 43 people who own property within a 500-foot radius of Trops signed a petition asking the city to terminate the bar’s liquor license.
Trops is especially famous among Mizzou alumni for selling boozy fruit slushies to-go in Columbia. Trops’ St. Louis location sold to-go drinks off-and-on, eventually vacuum-sealing the drinks to appease neighbors who complained about littering, noise, street congestion, fights, and other disturbances outside the bar.
Trops says it took several steps to address neighbor complaints, including closing at midnight despite being permitted to stay open until 1:30 a.m., turning patio music off by 11 p.m., posting signage and placing cones to improve public parking, hiring additional security from 9 p.m. until close on Friday and Saturdays, and cleaning up trash.
“We are responsible members of the community and did everything we could to work with our neighbors, even when it was detrimental to our bottom line,” said Thompson.
In the end, it wasn’t enough.
Here’s the final decision from the city’s public safety department:
Note: This story has been updated with correct information about the petition. It was signed by property owners within 500 feet, not miles, of the bar.
Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at LToler@stlmag.com or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
