Etowah City Commissioner Jim Bull.The Etowah, Tenn., City Commission has voted to block a whiskey distillery proposed in a downtown building, but Hillborn Crafted Spirits will push on regardless, its managing partner Kevin Caruthers said.
The city doesn’t have the authority to block the distillery, he said.
“I’m going to continue. I’m not stopping,” Caruthers said Wednesday. “I’m not wasting my time, my money or my effort on a case I don’t need to fight.”
The council’s 3-2 vote Monday night came after members of the North Etowah Baptist Church came to the meeting accompanied by Athens, Tenn., attorney Charles Pope Jr., to oppose the distillery.
City Manager Matthew Gravely said the distillery wasn’t on the agenda.