Liquor Control Board finds The Windbreak in violation of Municipal Code for the second time

(Fargo, ND) — The Windbreak Saloon appeared in front of the Fargo Liquor Control Board Thursday afternoon.

The board held a special meeting to consider whether or not the establishment violated Fargo Municipal Code for “serving obviously intoxicated or impaired persons.” The alleged violation occurred in late October 2023, according to Fargo City Auditor Steve Sprague.

Sergeant Alden Golos, who serves as a liaision between the Fargo Police Department and The Windbreak, said that the incident happened October 21. Officers responded to The Windbreak at 2:17 a.m. Officers located a male who was passed out and extremely intoxicated, he said. The male could not walk, form complete sentences, stand on his own and had urinated on himself, Golos said. The male, who had been drinking at The Windbreak, was transported to a local hospital prior to being taken to detox.

Golos said taking soemone to detox “is a high burden, legally speaking.”

“The officer has to determine that the person is a danger to themselves or others,” he said. “In this instance, he was a danger to himself.”

The male was served, according to video from The Windbreak, four mixed drinks and 10 shots in 96 minutes.

Golos said the male was slow in his movement but was fine until he sat down at a table with some off-duty employees at The Windbreak.

“Either the alcohol or something happened to him by the time he was leaving the establishment,” he said. “He had to be escorted out by security because he couldn’t walk.”

Tim O’Keeffe, who represented The Windbreak at the meeting, told Liquor Control Board members that using the term overserving “is not what the ordinance said.”

O’Keeffe asked board members to “go into this with an open mind and think about this case before you make your decision.” He called out Commissioner Dave Piepkorn, saying that comments he said at a special City Commission meeting on Tuesday is “leading me to believe that this is already decided for him.”

Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said Fargo Police responded to The Windbreak 19 times in 2023 for over intoxication.

After discussion between the Board, Fargo Police and O’Keefee, the board found The Windbreak in violation of the Fargo Municipal Code 4-1. The recommendation will now proceed to the Fargo City Commission.