Ryan Hargrove, owner of Hoptown, a bar in Ooltewah, is opening a second location known as Hoptown Downtown at 1617 Rossville Ave.
Mr. Hargrove told the city beer board that his goal is for the new location to be a traditional neighborhood spot. It is located behind the fire hall on Main Street in the first floor of a building with residential units above.
Music will be from Spotify and will be kept low since it is in a residential neighborhood and because the bar/restaurant is considered to be family friendly, said Mr. Hargrove. Hours will be the same every day of the week, from noon until 11 p.m.
Mean Jeen’s, 1800 E. main St., is described as an “affordable neighborhood cocktail bar serving beer, cocktails and wine catering to the Highland Park neighborhood." And there will be a small food menu of elevated bar food. The music will be from a CD jukebox. Hours are Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. and on Saturday and Sunday it will open at noon and close at 2 p.m. This bar wants to be a place for restaurant workers to go after they leave work, the beer board was told.
Mean King Brewinglocated at 1414 Jenkins Road, received a license for both manufacturing and for consumer and carry-out. All beer will be made on site and will be sold from the taproom. The brewery will also be selling beer to local restaurants and beer, wine and cocktails to its customers. The business is family friendly and will have chess board, board games and TVs available, as well as pool and darts. And there will be live music on Thursday evenings. Hours are from 5p,m.–3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. until “late,” on Friday and Saturday. Happy Hour wil be from 5-7 p.m. every day.
Paul Smith with Nooga Taps and his antique trucks continues to apply for a consumer beer license for an empty, fenced lot at 1511 Williams St. A building on the property burned down several years ago, but the concrete slab is left. The only place beer will be sold on the property is from Mr. Smith’s antique trucks and they will be parked there permanently, but food trucks will come and go. The city is having trouble knowing how to proceed with building inspections that are required - there is no building to inspect. The zoning inspector, Zach Atchley, suggested that Mr. Smith attend a pre-permit meeting that includes a representative from all departments and run ideas by them. A motion was approved to pass the matter to the next beer board meeting.
River City Company received a temporary beer permit for The Festival Bowl, a free, special event on Saturday, Oct. 5. It is labeled as A Taste of Latin America, a celebration of the culture with authentic food vendors, national and international performers, an artisan market, a kids’ area and a beer garden. It will be held at Miller Park from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
At the last meeting of the beer board, there were three applicants that had DUIs that disqualified them from receiving a beer license, an issue that had not happened previously and which had no procedure for how to resolve. Two of these applications were settled by having the license issued to another member of the corporation.
The third license was approved on the discretion of the beer board which believed the man with that DUI was on the right track, with no other violations in the past seven years. However, the board asked Assistant City Attorney Kathryn McDonald to discuss the problem with the Chattanooga City Council and get legal clarification.