City Beer Board members on Thursday heard testimony about a stabbing and a waitress who was drinking on the job.
At 2 a.m. on Jan. 16, police responded to a call reporting a stabbing at the Pickle Barrel Restaurant, 1012 Market St. While interviewing server Kayleigh Gonelli about the incident, Chattanooga Police Officer Marvin Perez said that she appeared to be intoxicated. He noticed that her eyes looked glassy, and blood shot, she had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
When a breathalyzer test was done, she registered .073. That number should have been zero, he said. The beer ordinance specifies that no employee of a restaurant or bar can consume alcohol or be intoxicated on the premises of the business. Owner of the business, Ben Bowers, said that he does not allow an employee to drink on or off the clock. Mr. Bowers was not present and the general manager had left for the night, leaving a bartender responsible. That bartender told Officer Perez that she was unaware that Ms. Gonelli was intoxicated.
Ms. Gonelli admitted to the Chattanooga Beer Board, at the Thursday meeting that she had a couple of drinks that night. She had entered the beverages in her cash register without anyone knowing, she said. This was done despite having been trained in alcohol sales, having an ABC server’s card for 10 years and knowing the policy. She said that “she had had a stressful moment because of the stabbing.”
Board member Trevor Atchley noted that if the alcohol had been consumed after the stabbing, the breathalyzer number would have shown up even higher later that night as the alcohol metabolized. Officer Perez said he believed she had been drinking before the incident because she was gulping water to mask the alcohol as the officers arrived. The server has been suspended from her job, but Mr. Bowers declined to fire her because of one incident, he said.
The Pickle Barrel has been owned by Mr. Bowers for five years and has had no violations of the beer code. The first motion to issue a letter of reprimand failed, with Board Member Brooke King saying she had a problem that someone with an ABC license, who has worked in a bar for 10 years and it is her career, knows better.
The motion passed for giving the restaurant a one-day suspension that will be on Thursday, Feb. 18. Mr. Bowers will have the option to pay a $500 monetary penalty. The state Alcoholic Beverage Commission will also be notified of the violation.
The Chattanooga Beer Board gave beer permits to two hotels, a golf club and two restaurants on Thursday. The opening of The Kinley Chattanooga Southside, 1409 Market Street is scheduled for March 4. The new hotel is being developed by Vision Hospitality Group, Inc. Owner Mitch Patel and a consultant for the business, Isa Marshall, represented the hotel which was approved to serve beer. There will be both a restaurant and a bar, but no room service. Liquor by the drink will also be available.
Sonesta International Hotels Corp has bought and assumed management of the former Courtyard by Marriott, 2210 Bams Dr., near Hamilton Place Mall. Because of the change in ownership a new beer license was applied for and received. The hotel and restaurant have remained open during the transition, but stopped selling alcohol or beer until new permits were received.