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Sarah Kloepple
Tropical Liqueurs' liquor license will be terminated April 9.
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Lindsay Toler
Our order from Trops in Soulard: one Cherry Bomb and Tiger Paw, and one Sweet Tart and Silver Bullet. Instead of Trops' iconic white styrofoam cups, to-go drinks in St. Louis come in plastic cups with vacuum-sealed tops.
The sibling owners of Tropical Liqueurs say they’ll keep serving their signature boozy slush drinks in Soulard after a judge’s ruling to terminate the bar’s liquor license was put on hold.
But the bar still won’t be serving its popular frozen drinks in to-go cups.
A St. Louis City Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that Trops can keep its liquor license while pending further judicial review. Meanwhile, owners say they’re finalizing a move to a different and more welcoming St. Louis neighborhood.
See also: Tropical Liqueurs Looks for New Location After Losing Liquor License for Soulard Spot
“We are excited that we can keep our doors open while we work on moving to our new location,” says Billy Thompson, who owns Tropical Liqueurs, known as Trops, with his brother Bradlee Thompson and sister Connie Vaughan. “We’re looking forward to moving into a neighborhood that is eager to have Trops. We are currently in negotiations for a new location that will be even better for the business and our guests.”
Owners say they’ll announce the new location once real estate negotiations are finalized.
Since opening in August 2015, the South Tenth Street bar has come under fire from Soulard neighbors for noise and trash complaints. Last year, Trops stopped serving its boozy slushies in the to-go cups that have made the bar a party staple in Columbia and Springfield in an effort to appease neighbors.
The to-go drinks are still a no-go. The judge’s order says Trops must continue the other noise-reduction and safety efforts that failed to assuage neighbors whose petition last month caused St. Louis City Excise Division Hearing Officer Tom Yarbrough to revoke the bar’s liquor license. Those efforts include closing at midnight instead of 1:30 a.m., hiring additional security, and hiring staff to clean trash around the business’ exterior.
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.
