The Chattanooga Beer Board on Thursday held a hearing for Nephew’s Bar and Grill, 4380 Dorris St., for the charge of overcrowding.
Chattanooga Police Officer John Collins said he had received notices from patrol officers about overcrowding at the bar so on the night of March 17 at around 1:20 a.m. he participated in a bar check and found 89 customers in the small building.
When asked what occupancy had been given by the Chattanooga Fire Department, the owner, Martels Carter, produced the inspection report from the Fire Department with the occupancy rate left blank.
In the three years he has been in business, he said he thought the occupancy was 100. During the bar check officers found that it was actually 50, including employees. The inspection should have triggered a certificate of occupancy, said Captain Chuck Hartung with the Chattanooga Fire Department.
Occupancy is determined based on the square footage and the number of exits to prevent a log-jam in the event of an emergency, he said. This case, he said must have “fallen into a crack.”
Based on information from the police and fire department, board member Christopher Keene made a motion to dismiss the case. The motion passed unanimously.