The City Beer Board on Thursday handed down penalties against several establishments that served beer to a minor.
The Chattanooga Police Department joined the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) for a series of compliance checks in the East Brainerd area on the afternoon and evening of May 23. In the undercover operation, a 19-year-old was able to purchase alcohol in five of the businesses that were checked that day, including two major, national retailers.
When the TABC finds a violation, it is standard procedure for the person that made the sale to be given a criminal citation and they are booked into jail and must appear in General Sessions Court. The business is also fined $1,500 by the state, which can be reduced to $1,000 if the business sends its employees to an ID training class that is given by TABC. Follow up compliance checks are also made by the TABC sometime between 90 days and nine months from the date that the violation took place. Businesses are then referred to the Chattanooga Beer Board if a violation is discovered a second time. The beer board must, at the least, mirror the penalty that was imposed by the state, and is also able to add other sanctions as they see fit.
On the night of May 23, however, Officer John Collins with the Chattanooga Police Department was involved in the checks, therefore the businesses were cited to the beer board the first time they were caught selling alcohol to a minor. That is what happed at Food City, 7804 E. Brainerd Road, when the clerk asked for an ID, but typed in a date that would allow the sale to the minor. After this incident, it was found that same cashier had typed in the same date 250 times in six months.
The clerk disregarded Food City’s policies and procedures and did not do what she had been trained to do, said Rick Bishop, vice president of Operations in Chattanooga. Carla Dickenson, district trainer, told the board that the clerk had signed monthly training acknowledgements of understanding about alcohol sales. Since then the store has been running reports to find repeat dates and internal compliance checks are being made. Employees have also all been sent to take the ID training class. The beer board gave this Food City the option of a three-day suspension to start one week from today or to pay a $1,000 fine.
At WalMart, 4110 Shallowford Road, that same night, a clerk sold a bottle of wine to the undercover buyer without checking the ID, but entered a date that allowed the sale. This incident was caught on the security film. TABC training will be required of 76 employees of the store, but they have not yet taken the class, said store manager Brian Hoffman. The store will also be employing their own secret shoppers to check the cashiers. Because their employees have not yet gone through ID training, the penalty given by the beer board was to either pay the same $1,500 fine issued by the state or suspend alcohol sales for three days, beginning in one week.
Another grocer, Aldi at 5706 Lee Highway, also made a sale of alcohol to the minor undercover buyer that night. The clerk at this store checked the ID but made the sale anyway, and was given a criminal citation. The store manger was handed a citation to represent the business at the beer board, yet no representative from the store came to the Thursday morning meeting. The TABC has not yet been contacted regarding the ID class, which is voluntary. This store was given a 14-day suspension that will start in o ne week, due to the fact that no one showed up at the hearing.
Amigo’s Mexican Restaurant, 5786 Brainerd Road, also made an underage sale on May 23, and the manager was handed a citation to appear at the beer board meeting, but no one showed up to represent the restaurant Thursday. The TABC has not been contacted about employees taking the optional re-training class. Considering also, that this is the second time the business has been caught selling beer to a minor, the board gave a 14-day suspension that will start one week from today.
Holiday Bowl-Spare Time, 5518 Brainerd Road, was checked on May 23 and in the bar area, a server checked the ID and made the sale anyway. He later told the manager he misread the number 8 for a 6 on the license. It does not really matter about the numbers, said Board Member Andre Harriman, a Georgia driver’s license is clearly marked with a red box to indicate the owner is a minor. The sale was captured on security film and is now being used in training for alcohol sales across the region, said Ryan Dean, general manager. The employees have all taken the ID class. This business was given the choice of suspending alcohol sales for three days starting in one week, or paying a $1,000 fine.
A waitress at Mexi-Wing, 5773 Brainerd Road, did not check the ID before making the sale of beer to the undercover buyer on May 23. That night, when the TABC was in the process of issuing a criminal citation to the server, they discovered that she was using a fake ID. The police arrested her on the spot. The owners of the restaurant said when she was employed, an ID and Social Security card had been shown and was on file. She also was working without a server’s permit because the TABC had found the problem with her documentation after she took the five hour class. Mexi-Wing was given the choice of a three day suspension of the beer permit, starting in one week, or paying a $1,500 fine.
Two new restaurants were approved for beer licenses at the Thursday meeting. Bela Lisboa, a new restaurant serving Portuguese food has already opened at 417 Frazier Ave. near the Veteran’s Bridge. With the beer license that it received Thursday, the restaurant will now be able to sell beer to go along with the food. Sekisui Japanese Restaurant, 1120 Houston St. also was approved for a consumer beer permit. Star Mart, 4803 Brainerd Rd. was given a carry-out beer license.
Pops on the River, organized by Chattanooga Presents, for the city of Chattanooga, will again take place in Coolidge Park from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. on July 3. The Independence Day celebration will start with Operation Song from 5-7 p.m. with music written by Chattanooga veterans and performed by musicians from Nashville as a special tribute to veterans. At 8 to around 9:45 p.m. the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and Dismembered Tennesseans will perform. Fireworks will start around 9:45.
The 25th Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon, sponsored by the Chalttanooga Track Club, will take place from Friday, June 22, to Sunday, June 25. The organization will have a volunteer appreciation party on Friday night from 6-9 p.m. in a tented and cordoned area of Ross's Landing where dinner will be served and each person can be served no more than two beers. On Sunday volunteers and participants will also be offered beer in the same tented area from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.