With just five Beer Board members present, a motion to declare a bar just off Main Street as a disorderly place failed on Thursday morning.
Two charges of operating a disorderly place brought the owner of Exile Off Main, 1634 Rossville Ave., before the board on Dec. 7. The case was heard but no decision was made at that time; instead, it was postponed until the Jan. 18 meeting to clarify what noise zone the business is in as well as gathering data about the number of complaints and calls to the police that have been received about the bar. It was noted that the charge of operating a disorderly place was only about noise with neighbors being unable to sleep, there have been no issues of fights or rowdy behavior.
The bar that is adjacent to townhouses and condominiums that are largely used for vacation rentals downtown only has four seats inside, so the main bar operates on a patio in the back surrounded by an open area. Those spaces have no walls and no roof to help contain the sound.
Owner Freddy Schwenk said he has tried to reduce the noise level by erecting plexiglass panels covered with moving blankets and by redirecting the speakers. He said he also is reducing the bass.
Gary Crow, owner of one of the condominiums that is being affected, said the facts show that Exile Off Main is not in the amplified music district and that noise from the bar is too loud and doesn’t conform to the zoning ordinance for its address. He said that it is not the correct type of facility for a music venue - there is no roof - and he said that noise will continue to exit.
Mr. Crow said, “Even my 10-year-old understands that. “ Because Mr. Schwenk said he has the ability to enclose the site, Mr. Crow suggested suspending the beer license until that is done. Chairman Monica Kinsey said the business would still be able to operate because it has a liquor license.
Since the original hearing, Beer Inspector Sgt. Jason Woods researched the history of the complaints and told the board that calls for service to the police have increased since Mr. Schwenk bought the business two years ago. Sgt. Woods said from Jan. 1 through May 21, 2023, police received 13 calls specifically about Exile Off Main. From June 1 until Dec 23, 2023, 92 calls had come in about the address.
He also clarified that the location of the bar is outside of the special amplified music district that was created in downtown Chattanooga. In that district, music is allowed to be louder than other areas.
A Chattanooga Police officer, who has worked in the district around the bar for three years, told the board how the equipment to measure sound is calibrated and how noise is measured. The first step is to find an ambient reading at the location in question and then take the current reading and compare the two. He said both the high and low measurements he has taken outside Exile Off Main are above the numbers they should be.
Two previous violations for noise had been sent to the City Court and were dismissed because of the ambiguity with the way the ordinance had been written and because nobody knew if the bar was in the amplified music district.
Mr. Schwenk had been given a map of the district, however the map does not match the written description and it was undated and titled “Potential Entertainment and Music District.” He has been operating the bar based on the information that he was given, he said.
On Thursday morning, four of the five board members present felt those questions had been answered, and that doing nothing was a disservice to the surrounding neighborhood. But Chair Kinsey disagreed. She said she feels that those who wrote the ordinance need to clarify it. It takes five votes to pass a motion at the beer board, and with only five of the members present Thursday, the motion that Exile Off Main operates a disorderly place failed with the vote of 4-1.
When asked “What’s next,” Assistant City Attorney Kathryn McDonald replied that “she could not speak to that” and said that the violation dies.