Horizon Wine and Spirits – Chattanooga Inc., originally located in Nashville, has opened its second location at 3794 Tag Road in Chattanooga. It is the largest distributor of alcoholic beverages in Tennessee, selling a large selection of wines from around the world and spirits in addition to non-alcoholic mixers. Offering beer to the products it already sells, gives the company an opportunity to expand their business. This company does not serve the beverages it sells; it delivers them to bars, retail outlets and grocers that are permitted. The Chattanooga Beer Board issued a beer license with a unanimous vote of approval, to this business at a meeting Thursday morning.
Choo Choo Golf, formerly East Brainerd Golf Center, at 1073 Mackey Ave. was approved to serve beer and given a consumer license. This business is primarily a golf instruction center and driving range. The on-site manager was a former golf pro at the Honors Golf Course. The facility is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.
In response to a recent violation at the restaurant, Chili’s Grill & Bar, 5637 Brainerd Road, has implemented extensive procedures to prevent underage sales of alcohol. It also has a new owner, Brinker OpCo, LLC, and so was required to apply for a new beer license. General Manager Orlando Gonzalez told the board that he has been at this restaurant just six months and the other managers are relatively new.
Mr. Gonzalez told the board that he had not fully read the city’s beer code and could not speak for the other managers. Board member Christopher Keene asked how he could train employees without having read it. In response, Mr. Gonzalez read a long list of procedures that have been implemented recently, after the restaurant was penalized for selling alcohol to an underage customer. Despite being disturbed by the omission of reading the code, it was felt that enough safeguards are in place, and in a vote of four to and one against, the permit was issued with instructions to require all managers to familiarize themselves with the code.
Relocation of the Dollar General Store that is now at 7435 Lee Hwy. required the business to surrender its old beer license and apply for a new one. The new Dollar General Store at 6518 Shallowford Road applied for a first time license to sell beer. District Manager Michael D’Andrea was approved for permits at both locations.
Main X24, a 24 hour festival will take place from 6:30 a.m. December 5, until 6:30 a.m. December 6. Entertainment, parades, parties and music will take place up and down Main Street and admission is free. Food trucks will be set up in an empty lot at 214 E. Main St. and Heaven & Ale will be there selling beer. Joseph Windland, Jr., who has permits for permanent locations at Cambridge Square in Ooltewah and on Cherokee Boulevard in North Chattanooga, was given a special events permit to sell beer for Dec. 5 from 10 a.m.–12 a.m. during the festival.