The owner of Jimmy D’s Sports Bar and Grill, 3901 Rossville Blvd., appeared before the Chattanooga Beer Board Thursday morning for the sixth time over the span of 25 years. After that long, he should know the rules in the city’s beer code, said board member Andre Harriman. This offense was found when the Chattanooga Police, acting on a tip about gambling, did a bar check at 2 a.m. on March 6.
Evidence of gambling on NASCAR racing was found in the building and Police Officer John Collins found the owner, James Farlow, drinking at the bar and intoxicated.
Farlow told the officer he did that every day, but it was OK because he left before the bar got crowded. No employee is allowed to drink alcohol at the place where they work, according to the regulations in the beer code. At the hearing Tuesday morning, he said he drank O’Doul’s, which has an alcohol content so low that it would take 10 cans to equal one average beer. Officer Collins responded that night there were Budweisers on the bar and that Farlow admitted to drinking. Additionally, he called for a ride to leave the bar rather than using his own vehicle because he recognized he was over the limit and the police were present.
Mr. Farlow wanted to make sure the board members knew he did not have gambling machines. He told them that “the gambling was a board that the guests get on to have a little enjoyment” watching NASCAR races on Sunday afternoons. Gambling is also prohibited by law. One oxycodone pill was discovered behind the bar which went unclaimed. However, no charge was made for possession of drugs and drug possession could not be considered by the board, said Assistant City Attorney Keith Reisman.
The beer license of Jimmy D’s was suspended for 10 days starting on April 13.
Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill, 2225 Gunbarrel Road, was turned over to the Chattanooga Beer Board by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) after the restaurant sold alcohol to a minor for the third time on March 26, during sting operations on March 17, 2016 and May 26, 2016. For these violations the restaurant was punished with a 35-day suspension of the TABC license prohibiting the sale of wine or liquor during that time. Attorney Reisman said that if the board found that a local ordinance was also violated that the beer board is required to issue the same sanction as the TABC.
The restaurant now has a new general manager who has created procedures designed to prevent a repeat of the offense. The remedial actions include that all servers and bartenders sign a document before each shift which acknowledges the date on an ID when alcohol sales are allowed. The business is also conducting private stings and a server who fails will be immediately terminated.
The punishment issued to Smokey Bones is a suspension of the beer permit for 35 days, which mirrors the penalty given by the TABC. The suspension will be from April 10 through May 15.
A violation of under-aged beer sales at Fiestas Mexicana #14, 4021 Hixson Pike, was also a referral from the TABC, which was the result of a compliance check on Jan. 26 when a clerk checked an ID but made the sale anyway. During the four-day suspension of liquor and wine sales, the restaurant voluntarily did not sell beer. Because of this the board considered the violation to have been settled and gave no additional penalty. A suggestion was made to have the servers professionally trained.
Mehul Shah was given a beer permit for five locations of Paradise Petroleum, doing business as Kangaroo Express, due to an ownership and name change. The transition to the new owners should be complete by next week. The locations involved with the name change are 4806 Highway 58, 4858 Highway 58, 3407 Amnicola Highway, 5012 Hixson Pike and 2300 Jenkins Road. Mr. Shah told the board that all employees are re-certified in alcohol sales every six months by the owner of the businesses.
The fundraiser for a new children’s hospital, Believe Bash, a black tie event, will take place on April 29 from 6-11 p.m. at the Wilson Air Hanger, 932 Jubilee Dr. Rebecca Styles said that the event sold out with over 800 tickets over a month ago. The party will have a vintage air travel theme, full dinner live entertainment and will show two mocked-up rooms in the proposed hospital. It will be put on by the Erlanger Health System Foundation.
Drink and Discover, a special event to raise money for the Creative Discovery Museum on April 20, from 7-10 p.m., is only for adults. Organizers are hoping to bring “big people” back into the museum. There have already been 500 tickets sold in advance.
Spring, put on by the Tennessee Aquarium, will be April 27 from 3 until 9:30 p.m. and will take place on the Walnut Street Bridge. It will be a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of the aquarium.
If Trees Could Sing, an Earth Day event that will promote awareness for the importance of trees, will be given by the Nature Conservancy. It will take place in Coolidge Park, 100 River St., on April 21 from 5-10 p.m. Beer can only be served from 6-8 p.m. according to the Chattanooga parks department. There will be live music and craft beer from Hutton & Smith Brewing.
A celebration of the Junior League’s centennial in Chattanooga will be held at the Hunter Museum of American Art on April 8 from 6 p.m.-midnight. The black tie gala will be catered by Lee Towery.
Proceeds from The American Dream Concert on April 22 will be divided between the Navy, which will provide beer servers for the event, and the UTC Veteran’s Entrepreneurship program, which teaches veterans how to run their own businesses. Times for the event will be 4:30-11 p.m. The headliner will be Jason D. Williams.
Haven and Ale will have a Cambridge Square BBQ Brawl on every Friday night in April, set up in the parking lot, from 5-10 p.m. On April 15, there will be a people’s choice BBQ contest. The sandwiches will be sold and customers choose the winner as opposed to judges. The rain date will be April 22.