Ria’s Food Mart, located in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, has been a chronic problem and on the radar of the Chattanooga Police Department for some time because of loitering around the business and selling beer to intoxicated individuals, said Chattanooga Police Officer Seth Romeo. The problems were resolved Thursday morning at the meeting of the Chattanooga Beer Board when the store’s beer permit was revoked for two separate violations that occurred two weeks apart.
This business had also long been a concern of the business community downtown and several representatives came to the meeting to testify about issues attributed to Ria’s.
Kim White, president of the River City Company, called the store “blight in the heart of our city,” and spoke of the numerous times that police have been called there. She said that extensive investment and redevelopment in downtown is taking place and that store is in the center of it. She said the store sells to intoxicated people all day long and these individuals loiter nearby, holding brown bags, panhandling and often urinating on the surrounding buildings. There are also many people exchanging goods in front of the store, she said. She asked the beer board members to issue the maximum penalty they could, in order to help clean up the area.
Bill Kilbride, president of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, with an office across the street, told the board that he sees what takes place at Ria’s on a daily basis. People sit around on the sidewalks, clutching paper bags, he said. It takes longer for the beer trucks to unload their deliveries than it does for the Coke trucks, he said, and he told the board that “people who know the city don’t walk on that street.” Building owners on the block spend a lot of money scrubbing the sidewalks, he added.
Real estate developer Ken Defoor told of seeing a woman last week passed out on the sidewalk with a brown bag beside her. Realtor/developer John Healy also came to the meeting to support downtown business interests.
Board member Andre Harriman questioned attributing all of these problems to that one store and said beer could be coming from other places. Officer John Collins told him Ria’s is the only store in a five to six block area that sells beer to go, and Officer Romeo said that receipts for beer were found inside the bag of a woman he arrested for public intoxication on May 3.
That arrest led to a 30-day suspension of the beer license which passed unanimously for the charge of selling beer to an intoxicated person.
The second charge against Ria’s of selling beer to a minor occurred during a compliance check made by the Chattanooga Police and the Hamilton County Coalition on May 15. That night, the clerk sold a beer to an underage, undercover buyer without asking to see an ID.
People wanting to make money on the backs of people who need the alcohol has become a habit with this store, said Mr. Harriman. “The train is off the track,” and we’re not going to tolerate this," said Board Chairman Christopher Keene. The vote was unanimous to revoke the beer license of Ria’s Food Mart, starting immediately, considering both violations. Distributors were instructed to remove beer from the stores immediately.
During the compliance checks conducted on March 15, four other convenience stores selling carry-out beer were caught selling beer to a minor. A clerk who had been certified and had been given annual training at Mapco Express #3673, 1265 East 3rd St. checked the ID of the underage buyer and made a sale anyway. The store was fined $500.
Circle K #3646, 1005 Hixson Pike, also sold beer to the minor undercover buyer on March 15, without asking to see an ID because, he said, she had a tattoo and he thought she looked old enough. After being caught, he admitted that was a mistake. The district manager for Mac’s Convenience Stores, owner of this Circle K, brought a file filled with documentation of training that clerk had received and been tested on. In this case, it was speculated that he entered a false date for the register to allow the sale of beer. The clerk was fired and the store was fined $1,000 in lieu of a 15-day suspension.
At Harry’s, 3640 Hixson Pike, a clerk who had just been notified that her husband had been taken to Erlanger Hospital by LifeForce, was the only one in the store when the underage buyer was sent in. The clerk, who was distraught, said she must have keyed in the wrong date, which allowed the sale on the register. This violation received a three-day suspension of the beer permit, starting June 8.
Discount Mart, 4300 Norcross Road, is jointly owned by a father and son. On May 15 the father made a mistake and sold beer to a minor customer. He said he was unaware that all licenses for people under 21 are marked with a red box to help easily identify age. A 10-day suspension of the beer license starting June 8 was given to the business because this was its second violation for underage sales.
Three consumer beer licenses were given to restaurants in Chattanooga. The Read House Hotel, 827 Broad St., was required to get a new license because of a name and ownership change. The Historic Read House Associates, LLC will now operate the business without a management company. It was formerly the Sheraton Read House.
Mexiville Mexican Restaurant, 809 Market St., applied for and received a new permit because the restaurant moved to a new location, next door to the old one. Also approved was Kumo One, 6025 East Brainerd Road, described as a small family style Japanese restaurant.
Naina Food Mart, 2413 4th Ave., a gas and convenience store, was approved for a carry-out beer license.
The beer board acting as the Chattanooga Wrecker Board approved a wrecker application from Rodney Kilgore with Monteagle Wrecker Service for a new location at 6808 Connner Lane.