Owner of Mexican market, restaurant loses beer license amid city clamp down

La Tapatia owner hopes removal of alcohol sales will decrease crime on Mercato block

Just days after a longtime Sioux Falls casino in a crime-riddled neighborhood closed its doors amid efforts to rid the area of alcohol sales, its former neighbor is also losing its eligibility to sell beer. 

But Sioux Falls city councilors say it’s not the fault of ownership at La Tapatia. Rather, the Mexican store and restaurant is the unfortunate victim of circumstance, they say. 

Tuesday, Councilor Greg Neitzert pulled reapproval of of La Tapatia’s licenses from the evening’s consent calendar, in order to allow the council to have a full debate on whether or not to allow the Latin American cafe and store to continue to sell beer at its Mercato block location. 

“You can go in there and not even realize there is alcohol there,” Neitzert said.

A block of chaos: Casino first to go as Sioux Falls looks to rid 'hood' of alcohol sales