The exterior of Gay 90's in downtown Minneapolis. Owners of Gay 90's and other downtown restaurants and bars are suing Mayor Jacob Frey and the city over a rule requiring customers show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test for them to eat and drink inside. The rule does not affect takeout. Photo: Sam Wagner/Shutterstock
The exterior of Gay 90's in downtown Minneapolis. Owners of Gay 90's and other downtown restaurants and bars are suing Mayor Jacob Frey and the city over a rule requiring customers show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test for them to eat and drink inside. The rule does not affect takeout. Photo: Sam Wagner/Shutterstock

A group of Minneapolis restaurants and bars are suing Mayor Jacob Frey and the city over the mayor’s orders mandating that customers show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test in order to eat and drink on site.

The orders went into effect on Wednesday.

The plaintiffs Smack Shack, Gay 90’s, Sneaky Pete’s, Wild Greg’s Saloon, Urban Forage, Jimmy John’s and Bunkers Music Bar & Grill claim in their suit that the mayor’s orders requiring them to verify COVID-19 vaccination or negative status is “without authority, ultra vires, and as such should be declared null and void.”

When Mayor Frey announced the mandates on Jan. 12 alongside Mayor Melvin Carter of St. Paul, he described it as the next critical step “to avoid closures, we want to stay open, and we need to stay safer.”

However, in their lawsuit filed on Thursday, the owners of these establishments allege that “Minneapolis bars and restaurants are being used as pawns to further Mayor Frey’s agenda of pushing for and convincing the public to get vaccinated.”

The city has not yet issued a comment on the lawsuit.

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