City Beer Board Gives Out Suspensions After Sales To Underage Buyers

  • Thursday, July 6, 2017
  • Gail Perry

Two businesses that were penalized with a 14-day suspension of their beer license on June 15 were given a second chance to answer the charges against them at the meeting of the Chattanooga Beer Board on Thursday morning. At the previous meeting, Aldi, 5706 Lee Highway, and Amigo’s Mexican Restaurant, 5786 Brainerd Road, each failed to send a representative on their behalf to the hearing after being charged with selling alcohol to a minor.

 

Attorney Tayo Atanda, representing Aldi, came to the meeting Thursday morning and told the board that the manager who had been handed the citation for the underage alcohol sale, was the employee who actually made the bad sale on May 23.

She failed to report it up the chain of command, he told the board, until two days before the suspension was supposed to start. No company representative had been at the meeting because it took place five days before Aldi’s knew about it.

 

That manager was arrested and booked into jail. A judge will decide her penalty, said Assistant City Attorney Keith Reisman. She has also been terminated from Aldi and now “a second layer of protection” to prevent the sale of alcohol to a minor has been added by the stores, said Mr. Atanda. A second person will now look at any ID that is marked with a red box, indicating the owner was under 21 when it was issued. Also, calendars are at each register as a constant reminder, and the register system requires the entry of date of birth before the sale of alcohol is allowed. There will also be spot checks and daily briefings from managers. The board gave Attorney Reisman the authority to resolve a settlement for the violation, reducing the original 14-day penalty, to either a three-day suspension or an optional $1,500 fine.

 

Amigo’s Mexican Restaurant failed to send anyone to their hearing on June 15 for underage sales because they had expected to receive a notification of the date in the mail, said Attorney Lloyd Levitt, representing the owners of the business. This was despite the fact that Officer John Collins with the Chattanooga Police Department had explained the citation and circled the date of the meeting when it was given to the manager at the time of the infraction.

 

A manager and partner of the business found out about the 14-day suspension from customers the day after the June 15 beer board meeting. At that time, he voluntarily stopped selling beer for the day and retained Attorney Levitt. On the following Monday, Attorney Reisman was contacted about missing the meeting. A $1,500 fine that was imposed by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission during the compliance check was also paid. The server who made the sale has been fired. After two failed motions that aimed to reduce the original 14-day penalty due to self compliance, Attorney Reisman told the board that he has the authority to negotiate the settlement.

 

The bartender at Longhorn Steakhouse, 5571 Brainerd Road, was caught selling beer to an undercover underage customer on May 25 during a compliance check of the Chattanooga Police Department and the TABC. The server checked the ID, but made the sale anyway. A citation was issued from both the CPD and TABC. The restaurant paid a penalty of $1,500 for a first time offense to the TABC and on Thursday was given the option of paying an additional fine of $1,500 to the city or to take a three-day suspension of their beer permit. If the suspension is taken, it will begin on July 13.

 

An underage buyer was able to purchase beer without being asked for an ID at Save-A-Ton, 5701 Highway 153, during a compliance check on May 30. Owner of the business, Saurabh Patel, told the board that he had no explanation for what the clerk did, and suggested that the police should arrest the person who sells to a minor, although he did not fire that employee. Mr. Patel also told the board that he had called his store that evening, before the illegal sale occurred, to warn employees that compliance checks were being made in the area.

 

Due to the fact that the employee was not terminated due to the underage sale and the owner’s belief that the city is responsible for issuing punishments for his employees as well as the owner attempting to obstruct justice by calling to warn the store, Board Member Trevor Atchley made the motion for a seven-day beer license suspension with no monetary option. The motion passed with the suspension beginning in one week.

 

A clerk at Mr. Zip, 1905 Gunbarrel Road, received a three-day suspension with the option of paying a $1,500 fine for selling beer to a minor undercover customer during the same compliance check on May 30, when 25 businesses in the area were tested. In this case, an ID was requested but the sale was made anyway. That employee who made the sale was terminated immediately and the store has implemented the requirement that employees must take the Responsible Vendor Program course. Information from the drivers license is now required before the register will allow a sale. The system cannot be overridden, said manager of the store Tim Howard. However, there is still the possibility that a fake date could be entered. Managers are now monitoring the store daily with spot checks.

 

The beer board approved giving beer permits for two special events. Friends of the Festival, represented by Chip Baker, was given licenses to sell beer at Riverfront Nights that will take place on July 15, 22, and 29 from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. This is the 12th year for the Riverfront Nights free concert series, he told the board, and that it has become a staple of Chattanooga’s summers. The beneficiary of these concerts will be the U.S. Navy.

 

Michael Alfano, owner of The Comedy Catch, 29 Station St., at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, was also approved for a special events permit to sell beer at Second Saturday on Station Street at Songbirds on July 8 from noon until 11 p.m. A foundation to provide musical instruments to area schools is the beneficiary of this event.

 

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