Update (12:12pm): shortly after noon Monday, May 18, Shady's bar owner Kris Schiffler announced to the line of waiting customers and supporters that he would not be opening the doors and serving. Per a phone call he'd just received from the Attorney General's Office, Shady's has been shut down.


Original post: A video from our news sister station WJON shows a line that wraps around the block of hungry and supportive customers outside Shady's Bar in Albany.

This past weekend was a flurry of announcements and retractions from the owner of Shady's bar Kris Schiffler. After announcing a week ago that he'd be opening all six of his restaurant locations around Central Minnesota despite the governor's orders, he was forced to retract after receiving threats of heavy fines from the Attorney General's office. On Saturday, Schiffler launched a GoFundMe to raise $100,000 to take the fight to the Supreme Court.

We are taking a stand to fight for our rights to earn a living, to fight for our employees and their families and to fight for ALL MN SMALL BUSINESSES! In order to do this, we need to raise a minimum of $100,000 for legal fees to bring this to the Supreme Court. We want to ensure that this never, ever happens to any of us again. We want our rights, our freedom and our control back!

By Monday, the fundraiser had raised nearly $200K. In a video update posted to Facebook, Schiffler said, "This money is not going to go towards Shady's. We're using it for our attorney, but our attorney's fight right now is to get rid of the whole thing, not just bars and restaurants. We're talking salon owners and house boat owners and resort owners, every kind of small business."

Schiffler also said in the video update that -- in light of the support -- he's going to open Shady's Albany location at noon on Monday, May 18. The state's Attorney General, in response, has filed a lawsuit against Schiffler's six restaurant locations.

Ahead of Shady's Albany open at noon, a Facebook Live video from WJON showed a line of hungry and supportive customers wrapped around the block.

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