A Dec. 23 incident involving a fatal hit-and-run accident and one club worker has Chattanooga’s “tight-knit” community of bar and restaurant workers buzzing, one employee says.
“It’s just made us more aware of the accidents and liabilities that can happen,” said Pickle Barrel bartender Monica Penn.
Ms. Penn said the bar where she’s worked for the last seven years is under a microscope, and staff members hold tightly to the city’s laws.
“A lot of people look at us and think we’re lax in the rules,” she said. “We’re strict with ID; last call is at 2:30 a.m.”
Chattanooga law forbids licensed establishments to sell, give away or allow consumption of alcohol on their premises from 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. on weekdays or between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sundays.
Attention to the law has heated up after police allege that Jeremy Lane, an employee of Chattanooga Billiard Club at the time, was driving home drunk after work when he struck and killed 42-year-old Susan Wood at 7 a.m. on Dec. 23 at Walnut and Fourth streets.
A club employee told police she drank beer at the club after it closed at 3 a.m. the same day, and that Mr. Lane also was working. She said she did not see Mr. Lane drinking alcohol at work.
The Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board suspended the club’s beer license for three days. The club filed a motion in Hamilton County Chancery Court for a judgment on the suspension. A hearing is set for June 8.
Dustin Choate, co-owner of both Market Street Tavern and Tremont Tavern, said management bears responsibility for how the staff acts, but owners can’t control everything an employee does.
“You try your best to stay on top of those things, but ultimately you have to hire people and rely on them and make sure these things are enforced,” he said. “But sometimes even your best efforts can end in bad mistakes.”
Mr. Choate said that if staff members are known to be drinking on the job and get away with it, then management is responsible.
“But if the owners have always been on top of those things … then they shouldn’t be held accountable,” he said.
Chattanooga police Sgt. Mark Haskins is one of three officers who work directly with alcohol compliance in the city. He said that, with more than 600 beer licenses in the city — which includes grocery or convenience stores, bars and restaurants — the three officers spend much of their time responding to complaints.
Often, he said, police may spot violations in a bar while visiting for inspections or responding to disturbance calls. However, there are not enough people or time to check every bar in town regularly for compliance, he said.
Michael Ryan, manager at the Terminal Brewhouse, said servers there don’t see too many problems with customers trying to push past the 3 a.m. limit on alcohol sales or consumption.
“Whatever people are drinking after hours they are stealing,” he said. “We keep a really close inventory on everything we do.”
ORDINANCE”No permitee under this article may sell or give away alcoholic beverages or malt beverages or permit the same to be consumed on the licensed premises between the hours of 3 a.m. and 8 a.m. on weekdays or between the hours of 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sundays.”Source: Chattanooga City Code
At 3 a.m., “even if you have a beer in your hand, we’ll take it out of your hand,” he said.
Pickle Barrel owner Nick Bowers said club owners and servers “obviously cannot 100 percent control” compliance with drinking laws. He said, though, that hiring experienced bartenders helps.
“They all know the rules, and I have to trust them,” he said.