Carry-out beer permits were given to two businesses. The new, local market, Mi Mercadito at 1820 E. Main St., opened four days ago. At the Chattanooga Beer Board meeting, owners Marleny Perez-Salas and Dustin Perez Perez received the permit that allows them to sell beer to-go.
Carla Urffer and Jonathan Morgan, owners of The Trough Sports Bar, were given both a Consumer/Carry-out and a Brown Bag a permit to sell beer at 6308 Highway 58.
Mr. Zip #581, a convenience store, was also given a carry-out beer license for the store at 305 Frazier Ave.
The Beer Board voted to sustain the recommendation that will put a letter of reprimand in the file of Lakeshore Grille, 5600 Lakeshore Terrace. On Feb. 10, an employee consumed alcohol while they were on the premises of the business, which is not permitted under the Chattanooga beer ordinance. The recommendation from Trevor Atchley, the administrative hearing officer who works for the beer board, was for a letter of reprimand to be put in the city’s file for that restaurant. The current process is for the beer board members to hear the recommendation and then sustain it or propose and confirm another penalty. In this case the recommendation was sustained.
After operating with a new procedure for several months, the process to hear violations of the beer code still needs revisions. At the meeting Thursday morning, Nathan Benford, the owner of Uptown Reload, had been notified that a violation of operating without a beer permit for his business would be heard at the beer board meeting. But there was miscommunication. On Thursday, the business owner was at the meeting but the hearing officer was not. The new procedure is for a hearing officer to hear the violation first, then recommend a sanction to the beer board for the business at another meeting two weeks later.
In this case, although scheduled with Mr. Benford, the hearing officer was not present or available, which will result in the bar’s owner having to return to another beer board meeting on May 1. And now, with the two-step process, the beer board will have to hear the recommendation from the hearing officer at that meeting and decide whether to accept it or create another one of their own.
Board Member Veronica Dunson asked a question that had not been asked before: When a business gets a violation and loses the use of its beer license for a period of time, how does the city know it is adhering to the penalty? Beer Inspector Officer Phil Moser answered that it is on the “honor system.” He said that a list goes to the patrol officer in the area, “but it’s like talking to a wall.” Checks are not made every time, and the business may or may not suspend the sale of beer, so there is really no monitoring, he said.
“Why give them a penalty if no one is monitoring it?" asked Ms. Dunson.
“Good point,” said Chairman of the Beer Board Dan Mayfield.