Under the neon lights of the City Cafe Diner, Matt Derrick brings food from the kitchen to a table at the restaurant after midnight. File photo.The city of Chattanooga's beer board was out of line when it told they City Cafe that it couldn't sell beer and serve food from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
That's according to a ruling by the Appeals Court in Knoxville that was filed Thursday.
The 24-hour diner, which has locations in hotels downtown and on Lee Highway, stopped serving beer at its Lee Highway location after being cited by Chattanooga police in June 2011.
City Cafe fought the citation in Aug. 2011 in Chancery Court and sought $4,500 a month in damages from the city for loss of business.
The appeals court found that it was arbitrary for the city to force City Cafe to choose between selling beer or serving food and declared that section of city code to be constitutionally invalid.
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.