As a result of beer and wine sales being allowed at grocery stores in Tennessee beginning July 1, the Aldi stores at 5706 Lee Highway and at 5510 Highway 153 applied for a beer license. The managers from both stores were scrutinized at the meeting Thursday morning before being given beer permits. Employees at both locations as well as the store in Fort Oglethorpe have undergone training and have been certified for selling alcohol, said Elizabeth Boettcher from the Lee Highway store and Wanda VanFossen from the Highway 153 location. Everyone in sales will also be required to up-date training yearly and both managers said that they will be communicating with their employees all the time about the importance of the rules for selling alcohol. Both are also in the process of applying for a license to sell wine. The stores have a scanner to check ID cards.
The Events and Hospitality manager of Finley Stadium, Hayley Church, was given a catering beer license Thursday morning, the third for the stadium campus. Ms. Church already held a consumer license for sales during games in the stadium itself, including the Stadium Club. The facility’s campus also includes the First Tennessee Pavilion, and it too has a separate consumer license, but it cannot be used for events other than those organized by officials with the pavilion. Ms. Church was approved for a catering permit, which will now allow beer sales at events managed by the Finley Stadium staff. These events will always have off-duty police present to help monitor alcohol sales, she said. “If anyone here wants to know how to do it right, ask Ms. Church,” said board member Christopher Keene.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #484 has been closed for the past 30 days after the building at 1491 Riverside Dr. was sold and the club relocated to 2402 Amnicola Highway. Because of the location change, a new beer permit was needed. The VFWs operate as private clubs, and card carrying members must be buzzed in. The new license for selling beer was granted to Kelley Freeman.
Bashar Kaddoura, owner of K. Market, a convenience store at 909 Dodson Ave., was also approved for a beer permit. He told the board that the store has a point of sales system that stops a sale until a birthday is entered. Board member Andre Harriman warned that some clerks put in a fraudulent date to satisfy the system in order to sell beer to their friends. “Then they wouldn’t be employed by me,” answered Mr. Kaddoura.
One special events beer permit was given at the beer board meeting to Kelly Williams, representing the Southern Brewer Festival scheduled for Aug. 20. This will be the 22nd year for the event sponsored by Craftworks. It will take place at Riverfront Parkway where there will be 60 small brewers from around the region. Security will be handled by 30-40 police officers, said Ms. Williams. Tokens will be sold to festival goers and in turn they will be used at the individual vendors. There will also be wristbands issued to designate age. This event is a fundraiser benefiting the Craftwork Foundation based in Colorado and Chattanooga Kids on the Block. The event will begin at 2 p.m. and conclude at midnight.
Officers of the Chattanooga Beer Board for next year were elected after the regular business concluded. The person filling a position cannot have the job in consecutive years. For the past year and a half, Ron Smith has served as chairman, Christopher Keene as vice chairman and Dan Mayfield as secretary. The newly-elected officers are Chairman Christopher Keene, Vice Chairman Day Mayfield and Secretary James Hobbs. The new term will run from July 2016 through July 2017.