Several Well-Known Restaurants Have To Pay Up After They Are Caught In Underage Beer Sting

  • Friday, October 17, 2014
  • Gail Perry

The Chattanooga Police Department conducted two days of compliance checks jointly with the Tennessee Alcohol and Beverage Commission on Sept. 19 and 30. The effort, concentrated in East Brainerd, found a pattern of selling alcohol to minors in multiple locations. Several well-known restaurants had to pay the penalty at the City Beer Board on Thursday.

Four of the six establishments that came before the Chattanooga Beer Board Thursday morning are part of large restaurant chains. These all have training manuals to teach policies concerning the sale of alcohol. They also conduct regular training and refresher sessions with employees to make sure underage alcohol sales are not made and customers are not over-served. Some also contract with companies to do their own random compliance checks. Employees are aware of the fact that termination of employment is the price of serving a minor. Despite these businesses best efforts, human error cannot be eliminated and that is what happened at the restaurants that had been cited resulting in penalties, officials said.

None of the restaurants denied the charges or had questions regarding the citations, and all accepted responsibility for the mistakes made by their employees. Fines issued by the ABC board in most cases had already been paid, thus acknowledging their faults.

Employees that serve alcohol must obtain a server's license from the ABC board but that is not required to serve beer. Kim Hammett, representing Applebee’s, told the board members that she is in favor of having servers who violate the laws share in the responsibility that the businesses now shoulder. As it is now, she said they walk down the street and get another job leaving the problem with their former employer. She said she has been working to have the Tennessee Alcohol and Beverage server’s license revoked for a year following a violation.

The businesses that failed the compliance checks on Sept. 19 included Big River Grill and Brewery, 2020 Hamilton Place Blvd. Underage, undercover agents with the ABC board and Chattanooga Police Department were in the restaurant at a time between lunch and dinner when it was not busy and ordered beer and alcohol. The server checked their IDs, which were clearly marked with a red frame, formatted vertically and marked “Under 21” yet served them anyway. “We can train them, talk about it and monitor them, but in the end, we are only as good as that one person,” said General Manager Deb Cranston. That server, a six-year employee was terminated an hour after the incident. Because this was the restaurant’s first violation Big River was given the choice of a three-day suspension beginning Oct. 30 or paying a fine of $1,500.

The same two undercover agents were served alcohol at Smokey Bones Barbeque and Grill, 2225 Gunbarrel Road, on Sept. 30. Again, their licenses were checked for age yet the customers were served despite being underage. The general manager told the board that they do everything they can to train and assist the servers including setting up their own “sting operations” twice quarterly and give $100 gift certificates if they find 100 percent compliance. The server that made the underage sale was terminated. Attorney Doug Cox, representing the restaurant, told the board that 30 percent of their business is in alcohol sales and, if not for it, the business would decline. He said a three-day suspension would cause a cut back of employees. He said to take it out of the employers pocket rather than punish all employees, adding that they can give all the training in the world, but “you’ll never be able to eliminate human error.” The restaurant was given the choice of a three-day suspension beginning Oct. 30 or a $1,500 fine.

Applebee’s, 2342 Shallowford Village Dr., was another restaurant that served the undercover agents despite asking for ID. In addition to other training and methods in place to determine age, Applebee’s also provides each server with an overlay card which is placed over a license to clearly identify legal age. The manager said it was “idiot proof,” yet the server in question still made the sale. She said the restaurant has since invested in scanners for the managers to verify legal age. That server was also terminated immediately, said the manager. The penalty imposed on this business by the ABC was suspension of 10 days. Because this is a second violation for underage serving, the beer board also gave a 10-day suspension of their beer permit to coincide with the suspension of the liquor license.

Firebirds Wood Fire Grill, 2107 Gunbarrel Road, was also cited on Sept. 30 for underage sales. In this case the server never asked to see ID. The waitress was terminated and managers were punished by money being taken from their bonus pool. This infraction was punished by a seven-day suspension of the beer license beginning Oct. 30.

Kanpai of Tokyo, 2200 Hamilton Place Blvd., also made an illegal underage sale. The owner, William Miranda, told the board that before lunch, there is no bartender present because there is no need for one.

On Sept. 19 the undercover agents went to the restaurant around noon, sat in the bar area and ordered drinks. With no one else to serve there, the assistant chef from the sushi bar, wanting to help, took the order. He was not trained and did not have a server’s license. He was terminated the day of the incident. The restaurant was given a seven-day suspension for the incident, to start on Oct. 30.

The beer license was revoked for Electric Cowboy, 5600 Brainerd Road. The business has closed, said Officer John Collins. The beer board was never notified, he said, and Thursday was the second meeting that had no representation in response to a citation that was issued for underage sales on Aug. 17.

The board issued beer permits for three special events. Crabtree Farms of Chattanooga, 1000 E. 30th St., is having a fundraising event for educational and outreach programs for its facilities. On Nov. 1 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. people will be encouraged to bring left over pumpkins to the “Pumpkin Smash.” They will ultimately be put in a field where they will compost, said Andrea Jaeger.

The Main Street Market Harvestfest will be held outdoors at the location of the Main Street Farmer’s Market, 325 E. Main St., on Oct. 29 from 4-7 p.m. Big River has donated two kegs for the event.

Novemberfest, a fall festival, will be put on by Southern Burger Co. at Cambridge Square, 9453 Bradmore Lane in Ooltewah. It will take place from 3-11 p.m. on Nov. 1. Beer will be sold from trailers on both sides of the parking lot, using wristbands to identify age. Bratwurst plates will be sold and food trucks will be available.

 

Breaking News
New Hope Fire Department Disputes TWRA Report On Kayaker Rescues
  • 3/28/2024

New Hope Fire Department Corey Comstock disputed a report by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency about the rescue of 33 kayakers from extremely high winds near Nickajack Cave on Monday. ... more

Woman Dies After Being Seriously Injured In House Fire Thursday Afternoon
Woman Dies After Being Seriously Injured In House Fire Thursday Afternoon
  • 3/28/2024

A woman died after sustaining life-threatening injuries in a house fire on North Moore Road Thursday afternoon and was rescued by Chattanooga firefighters. Hamilton County 911 received a call ... more

Motorcyclist Hit Speeds Of 170 MPH; Posted Video Of Outrunning Police
Motorcyclist Hit Speeds Of 170 MPH; Posted Video Of Outrunning Police
  • 3/28/2024

A motorcyclist fled on Sunday, from a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempting to make a lawful stop on Highway 27. Since that time, the deputy has been working leads to identify the ... more