A new space for food trucks is coming to the southside of Chattanooga. Spaces for a revolving array of food trucks will be rented out on an empty lot at 1511 Williams St. Paul Smith with Nooga Taps, LLC will be among them. The antique trucks that he sells beer from will be the only trucks there selling beer. The Chattanooga Beer Board approved the beer permit contingent upon getting approval from the city’s building inspector, despite there being no building there. None of the trucks will be permanently located.
The Red Lobster restaurant at 2200 Bams Dr. in the Hamilton Place area is making a comeback after the corporation filed for bankruptcy. RL Investor Holdings LLC, the new owner of the restaurant chain, received a license to sell beer that was needed due to the change in ownership. The beer board was told that the employees and management at this location will remain the same, only the owners have changed.
Nacho Libre Taqueria will be opening at 8206 Apison Pike in Ooltewah. A beer permit has been approved contingent upon the approvals of the building and zoning inspections. When it opens, the casual restaurant will be selling beer to accompany the authentic Mexican street food.
A second location for Marthie Ann’s Tennessee Blue Plate has been open for three weeks at 9453 Bradmore Lane, Unit 101 at Cambridge Square in Ooltewah. The original restaurant is in Cleveland. The history of a DUI conviction in 2017 for one of the owners nearly prevented the beer board from issuing a license to the business. The beer code prohibits approving a beer permit to a business owner with a DUI in the past 10 years, however after much discussion the beer board members overrode that condition and approved selling beer to accompany the food. The restaurant can seat 64 customers inside and 65 on the outdoor patio that is enclosed with a fence. Food is described as “typical southern dishes from the 1950s-1970s, like what you would find at Mamaw’s house.”
Bar Sabor Para Bailer is a new dance hall that the owner, Samantha Nicole Caceres, described as family friendly. She has rented a portion of a large building that also holds an indoor soccer field. The dance hall will have a band and sell beer but no alcohol and BYOB will not be allowed. There will also be no food served. Hours of operation will be on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 p.m. until 2:45 a.m. The address given is 3803 Calhoun Ave., Unit 103, however the building straddles the Tennessee and Georgia state lines so there is a discrepancy about which address to use. Once that is determined, the Chattanooga Regulatory Board will make the decision to approve the sale of beer.