Chattanooga Beer Board Meeting – October 16, 2025
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Chattanooga Beer Board Meeting – October 16, 2025
The Chattanooga Beer Board convened on October 16, 2025, at 9:30 AM (estimated) to approve minutes, review beer applications, and act on violation recommendations. The meeting began with administrative items, followed by discussion of a rejected temporary permit, a deferred application, and two beer violation cases, one of which resulted in a close vote.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes from September 18, 2025 – Approved unanimously.
- Beer applications approved by regulatory staff – Read into the record: Tap Trucks LLC (TE-98), Pickle Barrel October Fest (TE-99), Smart Music Project (TE-100), Hutton & Smith 10th Anniversary Party (TE-101), Creative Discovery Museum (TE-102), change of ownership for Sushi Garden Ink (Beer Permit 1360), and Amba B. Bagatti Corporation d/b/a Hickson Smoke Shop (Beer Permit 1361). New beer applications KVAT Food Stores (Beer 1362) and Countdown LLC d/b/a The Reading Room/Green Eyes Pies (Beer 1363) were also approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made.
Discussion Items
- Temporary Permit TE-103 (Sculpture Fields at Montague Park – Fire Up the Fields) – The application was rejected by zoning staff due to failing the distance check (within 300 feet of a prohibited location – a place of public gathering) and an address discrepancy (application listed 2001 Polk St., event at 1800 Polk St.). The board decided to pass the matter to the Regulatory Committee since it had not yet reached the full board.
- Vision Hospitality Management (Beer 1367) – The application was held up in legal, and the applicant had requested a deferral. A motion to move the item to the next meeting was approved unanimously.
- Beer Violation Review: Circle K (3615 3729 Tennessee Ave.) – A $500 civil penalty was recommended by the hearing officer for selling alcohol to a minor. The board voted unanimously to sustain the penalty.
- Beer Violation Review: Humidor Cigar Bar (3202 Brainerd Rd.) – The hearing officer recommended two three-day suspensions: one for after-hours sales (violation of Section 5-36) and one for disorderly conduct. Discussion ensued on whether the suspensions should run concurrently or consecutively. An amendment to run them back-to-back (consecutively) passed. However, the business owner stated the business has been dissolved, making enforcement moot. The board voted 4–3 to sustain the hearing officer’s recommendations. Roll call: Mr. Ashley (yes), Mr. Washington (no), Mr. Smith (yes), Ms. Dunson (no), Miss Barcliff (yes), Miss Morris (no), Chair (yes).
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved.
- Beer applications from regulatory staff approved as read.
- TE-103 rejected by zoning; referred back to Regulatory Committee.
- Beer 1367 deferred to next meeting.
- Circle K $500 penalty sustained unanimously.
- Humidor Cigar Bar two three-day suspensions (back-to-back) sustained by a 4–3 vote.
- Meeting adjourned after a brief recess for the violation portion (scheduled for a later session).
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome you to the Chat Nigga Beer board meeting of October sixteenth, twenty twenty-five. All meeting attendees must sign in at the designated sign in sheet for sun sunshine law requirements. So if you haven't done so, please do. All electronic devices must be turned off or muted so as not to disrupt the meeting. Please state your name before making comments, and please speak up so we can hear you uh clearly. All in favor of approving the minutes of September eighteenth, twenty twenty-five. Signify by saying I opposed. Okay, at this time, uh, I'll ask our court reporter Lori to swear in anybody. So anyone coming to speak before the uh board or hearing officer today will need to be sworn in me coming up and speaking on an application or a violation or anything at all. If you are, we need to stand down, please. Thank you. All righty. Read into the record the beer applications approved by regulatory. Tap trucks LLC. Uh TE-98. Pickle Barrel October Fest T E 99. Smart Music Project, Twilight Harvest Moon Market, TE-100. Hutton and Smith Brown Company, Hutton and Smith's 10th anniversary party, TE-101. Creative Discovery Museum, drink and discover Mad Science, TE-102. We do have a change of ownership, sushi garden ink, beer permit 1360, and another change of ownership. Amba B. Bagatti Corporation, DBA Hickson Smoke Shop Beer 1361. Bertha, is there anything, any other ones that we need to that have been approved by regulatory? Yes. So we have uh under new beer applications. We have some we don't have any under uh you've read all the ones on the first two pages. Everything else is new beer applications, okay. If you want me to read those the KVAT food stores under 61, that's been approved. Beer 1362 approved. All right. Also the countdown LLC doing business as the reading room, green eyes pies. Beer 1363 has been approved. The next one Vision of Hospitality Management LLC beer 1367 is held up in legal. Okay. Uh and I'm also showing on the list. New temporary beer permit application TE 103. Uh sculpture fields at Montague Park fire of the fields been rejected by zoning. Okay. I'm sorry, what was that? The uh sculpture fields at Montague Park, fire up the fields, TE 103. That's been rejected by zoning. Okay. All right, thank you. Is there anyone here from the sculpture fields at Montague Park? Okay. Uh is there a motion? It's been rejected. Do we know have any idea what the status of that is other than it was been rejected? The note I saw from Zach Wiley was within 300 feet.
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