Comedy Catch co-owner Michael Alfano called for Mayor Tim Kelly to rescind the executive order requiring businesses on Station Street to stop serving alcohol at 12:30 a.m. and close by 1 a.m. for the next 15 days during a Friday morning news conference.
Alfano said he was speaking on behalf of some of the other business owners on the street that includes Stir, Boneyard, Westbound Honky-Tonk, Regan's Place, Blue Light and TailGate Brewery, and said the order will take money out of the pockets of bartenders, dishwashers and ride-share drivers, among other staff.
While not mentioning the Blue Light by name, Alfano said the order is a blanket plan to address "one business that is the problem," but is punishing others. He has spoken out against the Blue Light at past Chattanooga Beer & Wrecker Board meetings and in prior interviews.
The Blue Light opened in late summer of 2021 and was issued six beer code violations in the first few months of being open. The Beer Board voted in early 2022 to revoke its permit. Blue Light owner Brian Joyce appealed, and he and the city reached an agreement in November that included working with the city on a tightened security plan and a 12-month probation period.
No security plan has been made, and Beer Officer Sgt. Jason Wood said his office issued a new citation to the Blue Light within the last few weeks.
Joyce has maintained that the Blue Light is a safe club and it is no more or less violent or disruptive than any of the other clubs on the street.
He declined to comment but posted on social media Friday that his business has had fewer incidents resulting in police reports than some others on Station Street.
According to police reports, one person was arrested after a fight broke out in front of Blue Light around 1:15 a.m. Sunday and another fight took place near the entrance of the Blue Light about a half hour later. Another person was arrested after a fight in Regan's around 1 a.m.
On Thursday, Kelly met with several Station Street business owners and told them of his executive order, and said in a statement released that day that it was being done as a way to curb what Kelly calls "a recent increase in violent incidents in the Station Street district."
According to the order, "All establishments selling alcohol on or adjacent to Station Street shall provide last call for alcohol sales at or before 12:30 a.m. and provide for closure of the establishments on Station Street at or before 1 a.m. effective April 21, 2023."
Wood said on Friday that Blue Light was still operating at 1 a.m. Friday morning, and police closed it down per the order. He said he has gotten conflicting information from the city today saying it should have gone into effect Saturday morning.
"The order says one thing, and I'm being told another, so I am confused," he said by phone.
He said he will be on Station Street along with other officers tonight. He said he expects officers will be visiting the establishments at 12:30 a.m. to make sure the order is being followed.
He pointed out the executive order falls under state code 38-9-101 and not the Beer Board, and that violating it is a misdemeanor.
"We will be out there," he said. "We are putting all assets towards this."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.