Coyote Jacks Saloon, 1400 Cowart St., described by Chattanooga Police Officer John Collins as one of the “hottest bars in town, with the biggest crowds,” was cited to the Chattanooga Beer Board for the second time this year. In February the charge was for overcrowding, which earned the bar a seven-day suspension of its beer license. On Thursday, the bar got by with a three-day suspension for over-serving customers on Aug. 5.
A bar check was conducted because of tips from patrol officers about seeing people being carried out every weekend and about apparent lack of control.
Chattanooga Police followed up with the inspection at 2:50 a.m., just before closing, and saw a man in his mid-twenties, passed out on the ground near the front door. Officer Collins said it was difficult to communicate with him, but eventually phoned his father to pick him up. He admitted that he had been in the bar, but could not say how much alcohol he had consumed, only how much he had spent. The officers also saw a 27-year-old woman being carried out. One measured .2 and the other .21 on a breathalyzer when the legal limit is .08.
In addition to the two customers that were cited by the police, TABC agent Travis Patton testified that he saw many severely intoxicated people leaving, so much so, they could have been a danger to themselves. The TABC agents and police officers stayed with many of them until Uber or Lyft arrived to take them home. The TABC has also received complaints about the bar, he told the beer board members.
An issue that alarmed the board was that none of the people there to function as security were licensed and only a handful of them had been through a training course, according to General Manager George Gainey. “As a citizen I am concerned and as a businessman, I’m shocked,” said board member Dan Mayfield regarding the security issues.
Bar personnel were not observed monitoring the sale of more alcohol to already intoxicated patrons, but one was positioned to check IDs and another had a a clicker to count the numbers of people inside. The manager told Assistant City Attorney Keith Reisman that they did prevent intoxicated people from entering, putting them in a “time-out” area on the patio, instead of letting them leave while they were incapacitated. Mr. Gainey did not dispute the fact that meant the over-serving happened inside the bar.
The manager the night of the bar check told Officer Collins that often when customers are cut-off from service, they either find another bartender or others buy liquor for them. Because of the large size of the bar with the capacity of 668, it is hard to control, he said.
The three-day suspension of the business’s beer permit will be Sept.r 21-23.
Another downtown restaurant/bar - the Terminal Brewhouse - appeared at the beer board meeting on the charge of serving beer to a minor. During a compliance check done on Aug. 11 conducted by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department, two minors were sent into the restaurant, each ordering a beer. The server asked for and looked at their IDs but served them anyway. She later said that she had looked at the expiration dates and assumed they were of legal age.
“No excuses, we blew it,” said owner Matt Lewis. In the nine years the business has been open, this was the first violation, he said. He told the board that their policy regarding alcohol is solid and requires an ID to be checked before every sale. It also states that serving a minor will result in losing your job. That server, a three-year employee, was terminated. Mr. Lewis said his new policy will focus on how to read IDs, and the bar will conduct self-compliance checks. Because this is the first time appearing before the beer board for a violation and because the management is using this event as a way to make his business better, the board gave the choice of paying a $500 fine in lieu of a three-day suspension that would start on Sept. 21.
Three gas/convenience stores were also caught selling beer to minors during the Hamilton County compliance check on Aug. 11. Harry’s #22, 8201 Apison Pike received a four-day suspension starting Sept.14 because the clerk asked to see an ID of the undercover customer but made the sale anyway.
The owner of Raceway, #6845, 3459 Amnicola Highway, said he trained all employees and repeatedly tells them to check ID, no exceptions. The register must also scan IDs to complete a sale and signs, as a reminder of dates, are placed everywhere, he said. “I don’t know how else to prevent it from happening,” he said. He added that he is planning to try to have Raceway get rid of the override button that allows a sale to someone who appears to be over 30. A seven-day suspension was given to the store since it was the second violation received in 2017.
A citation was hand delivered to the Kangaroo/ Circle K, 3407 Amnicola Highway, by Officer Collins two weeks before the scheduled hearing, yet no representative appeared from the business on Thursday morning. A motion was approved to suspend the beer license, starting immediately, until someone comes to the beer board to address the charge.
The Circle K Store #3645, at 2514 Amnicola Highway, was given the punishment of a $1,000 fine for an underage sale on Aug. 11, because the store is in the Responsible Vendor Program. In this case, the new employee asked for an ID yet made the sale anyway. “She was mad about it,” said Deputy Marty Ray with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s department, and believed she had been set up. Marketing Manager Todd Brown, for 14 Circle K’s in Chattanooga, said he had watched the video of the sale and did not dispute the charge. After the scan failed on first try and the date was flagged, the clerk re-entered the information using her own birth date. The managers at Circle K’s review video every day to find anything under-handed, he said and they do spot checks each day. The business also was cited and penalized by the county for the underage sale.
Several businesses applied for and received beer permits Thursday morning. The Pickle Barrel, 1012 Market Street has been in business about 35 years and has been owned by a father and son partnership. Ben Bowers has now bought out his father’s share of the business and he is now sole owner, which required the application for a new beer license that was approved unanimously.
The Tap House, 3800 St. Elmo Ave., will have “Ocktoberfest” on Sept. 16 from 3-11 p.m. The Saturday event will be held outside in the parking lot with a beer tent and a live rock band from 7-10 p.m. On Sunday, the event will be called “Artober Fest” where local artists will set up displays in the fenced-in parking lot. Entrance will be from the inside of the business.
Dawn Hjelseth, director of development for Greenspaces, was given a special events beer permit for the sixth Rooftop Hop. The multi-location event will take place Sept. 30 from 5-11:50 p.m. Stations will be at Citi Park, 809 Chestnut St., the CARTA Garage, 215 Broad St., The Edney, 1100 Market St. and Roots Rated, 1269 Market St. The fundraiser will promote sustainable living, working and building.
John Biondolilla was approved for a special events permit for “Fall Fest” by Heaven & Ale, 607 E. Main St. The neighborhood party will be held Sept. 23 from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. in the parking lot which will eventually be a permanent location for Heaven & Ale.