Party on: Judge gives nightclub 30-day reprieve on Miami Beach’s 2 a.m. last call

Story nightclub will be open with liquor flowing until 5 a.m. for at least another month, despite a judge’s ruling Tuesday that the city of Miami Beach can impose a 2 a.m. last call for alcohol in the South of Fifth neighborhood.

On Wednesday, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Reemberto Diaz said at a hearing that a new city ordinance can’t take effect for at least 30 days, according to representatives for the club and the city.

Previously, city officials had agreed not to enforce the ordinance at a Tuesday night event at the club, but made no promises beyond that. Now, Story can continue its ramped-up spring break programming, starting with a set by DJ Pauly D of “Jersey Shore” fame Thursday night and into Friday morning.

Lawyers for Story are appealing Diaz’s Tuesday ruling with the Third District Court of Appeal, and could ask that court to issue its own stay of the ordinance while it considers the matter.

“Story will continue to assert its rights through appeal,” attorney Sean Burstyn said in a statement.

The city ordinance, which commissioners approved last month, will force South of Fifth businesses that are currently allowed to sell alcohol until 5 a.m. to move their cutoffs to 2 a.m., with an exception for restaurants and bars with capacity of fewer than 100 people.

Story’s legal team questioned whether the 100-person cutoff had a rational basis, but Diaz said he had “no choice” but to side with the city based on prior court rulings that give local governments broad latitude to make policy.

The ordinance would force Story to stop selling alcohol at 2 a.m., not necessarily to shut its doors at that hour. But Burstyn said in court that the club “cannot live another day” if the policy takes effect, presenting data to suggest the club makes about 88% of its alcohol revenue between 2 and 5 a.m.

READ MORE: Miami Beach 2 a.m. liquor cutoff can take effect, judge says. Will Story nightclub survive?

Miami Beach officials celebrated Diaz’s decision after multiple efforts to roll back liquor curfews to 2 a.m. had been blocked in court in recent years.

“This is a residential neighborhood that should not have to endure 24-hour nightclubs,” Mayor Dan Gelber posted on Facebook after the ruling. “Hopefully we can begin enforcement very soon.”

The ordinance applies only to South of Fifth, where the residents of several high-end condo buildings have objected to having a large nightclub in their neighborhood. Story’s location at 136 Collins Avenue has served as a club for about 30 years, previously under the names Amnesia and Opium.

The new legislation does not address the city’s entertainment district on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue from Fifth to 16th streets, where numerous bars are allowed to sell alcohol until 5 a.m.