For some reason the bar was holding a Grand Opening (or Re-Opening) Weekend during September 13-15, 1974, with free admission and 25 cent drinks. One young man was reportedly harassed for wearing a red beret and having painted fingernails – a witness said that police called him a “faggot and a queer.” One report was that the cop bouncers ejected him for “violating the dress code.” The young man did not consider his beret to be a hat. Nevertheless he was allegedly put in a half-Nelson hold and thrown against a police car. This did not go well with the crowd (2,000 people had been through the doors that night), and a “row” resulted in nine arrests, mostly by friends who tried to intervene.
The next day (a Saturday), the city attorney’s office promised an investigation based on the number of complaints of brutality from the people arrested. The investigation ended up in the hands of the police chief, who was looking into the ownership of the bar and the number of complaints. (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 13, 14, 17, 1974)
A report in the Tribune on September 18, 1974, stated that the liquor license “is held by a group called The Committee, Inc., of which Allan Fingerhut is President.” The club was managed by Cincinnati-based The American Scene, Inc., which took a share of the profits. City ordinance required that liquor establishments must be locally owned, and the council wanted to look at the source of the club’s financing.
On October 2, 1974, the Tribune reported that no legal action would be taken against the two officers involved with the fracas, but “their actions were not up to the standards we expect of them,” said City Attorney Walter J. Duffy, Jr. But the council was still concerned about the license, suspicious that the Ohio group secretly was the owner.
On November 11, 1974, Minneapolis Mayor Albert J. Hofstede announced that he would instruct Police Chief Jack Jensen to forbid police officers to work after hours at Uncle Sam’s. He wanted to forbid all moonlighting, but he couldn’t afford to pay officers time-and-a-half so they could make a living wage. With permission, Officers could work any job except bartending after hours. (Minneapolis Star, November 12, 1974)