A limited number of restaurants are currently allowed access to the lucrative business of serving late-night diners in Dinkytown. The city of Minneapolis needs to streamline the licensing process for restaurants wanting to extend their hours so that more restaurants can feed hungry students late at night.

The Minneapolis City CouncilâÄôs Zoning and Planning Committee currently has the responsibility of approving licenses for extended business hours in restaurants. On Friday, the council will evaluate a proposal to transfer this power to the cityâÄôs licensing department in order to simplify the process.

As the Minnesota Daily previously reported, certain Dinkytown institutions are finding it difficult to obtain licenses to stay open late at night. The city has exacerbated frustrations by no longer accepting new applications for extending business hours during the transition process.

Mesa Pizza manager Flaco Huevos says that while after-hours dining does not make or break the business, it is certainly one of the busiest times for the restaurant. There is no reason why the city should allow some establishments access to this late-night business but not others.

If a reason exists for making the extension of business hours in this decidedly commercial area so difficult, the public has yet to hear it.

The city should make the transition to an easier approval process and should accept new applications again as soon as possible. Businesses are losing out on valuable revenue in the meantime. Not to mention the hundreds of University of Minnesota students who are being denied their late-night burgers and fries.