Jay’s bar at 1914 Wilder St., has been cited to the beer board several times in the past and punished with the suspension of its beer license multiple times since 2013. At the Thursday morning meeting of the beer board, the owner of the business was cited again on Sept. 28, for several of the same reasons. A routine bar check conducted by Chattanooga patrol officers on a Thursday night around midnight turned up issues of overcrowding and the owner drinking alcohol.
The Chattanooga beer code specifies no employee can consume alcohol at the place they work. Johna Douglas, owner, told the board that the bar had been closed for the week while she was out of town. On Thursday night, she said her customers threw a surprise cookout in her honor, when the officers did the bar check.
Both her sister-in-law and husband had extra keys to the building and planned the event without her knowledge, she said. She had one drink before arriving and another at the party. Police estimated there were around 75-80 people inside the building that has a legal capacity of just 49. The clicker was not found that night to substantiate the number of people until after the police left. When found, the clicker showed there were 55 people there, said Ms. Douglas. The punishment for the violations could not be decided because five votes are needed for a motion to pass and board member Lee Dear twice voted against the rest of the board when handing down the number of days the license should be suspended. A vote will be taken at the next meeting on Nov. 2 when more members should be present.
Sekisui, 1120 Houston St., was caught by the TABC on August selling beer to a minor undercover agent during a follow-up bar check for another violation .For this second underage sale, the restaurant was given the punishment of a five-day suspension by the TABC and referred to the beer board for the same violation. By state law, the beer board’s penalty had to match the one given by TDOT, resulting in a five-day suspension that will start on Oct. 26.
A new distributor beer license was given to Cherokee Distributing Co., Inc. 1305 Broad St., which has bought Carter Distributing. The business distributes beer in seven counties around Hamilton County. One of the owners, George Sampson, told the board that drivers will be given IPads with information about customers’ licenses and expiration dates, which will be checked before deliveries are made.
Ten convenience stores were approved for carry-out beer sales. Big Poppa Quick Mart, 4109 Dodds Ave., Speedway #7183, 3956 Brainerd Rd., Eagle Food & Fuel #9, 5900 Shallowford Road, St. Elmo Corner Market, 5601 St. Elmo Ave., and the Kangaroo stations located at 6960 Lee Hwy., 4806 Highway 58, 4858 Highway 58, 3407 Amnicola Hwy., 5012 Hixson Pike and 2300 Jenkins Road.
A Special Events beer permit was given for “Drink and Discover,” a fundraiser for the Creative Discovery Museum. It will be held Oct. 26 at the museum, 321 Chestnut St. from 7-10 p.m. Money raised will be used for educational outreach.
Another fundraiser, Three Blind Wines, will be able to serve beer. This event will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and will take place at Stratton Hall, 3146 Broad St. on Nov. 17 from 5-11:30 p.m.
Boots, Beer & Blackjack will help the Breakfast Rotary Club of Chattanooga raise money for Kids on the Block and for Rivermont Elementary to help build a handicapped playground. Tickets are $100 per couple and will include catered food, beer and prizes that have been donated.
A special events beer permit was given to Something Wicked on Station Street, which will have live music and costumes and will be put on by Choo Choo Partners, Regans Corp, Westbound, LLC and the Revelry Room. It will take place at 41 Station St. on Oct. 28 from 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. and is a ticked event for ages 21 and above.
Chattanooga Strange will be an urban art show and costume party with live music that will be held at 3230 Brainerd Road on Oct. 27 from 8-12 p.m. A special events beer permit was approved.