Tres Amigos on Market opened about three weeks ago at 200 Market St. above Sitar Indian Cuisine.
Tres Amigos on Market opened about three weeks ago at 200 Market St. above Sitar Indian Cuisine.A Mexican restaurant that left Ooltewah to move to downtown Chattanooga near the Tennessee Aquarium has to start all over again to get its beer permit, the city Beer Board voted Thursday morning.
Tres Amigos on Market, which opened about three weeks ago at 200 Market St. above Sitar Indian Cuisine, sought to have its beer permit approved for the new location.
But since Tres Amigos was caught selling alcohol three times to minors at its former location at 9219 Lee Highway during stings by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Beer Board members wanted the restaurant’s managers present so the business officials could explain what steps they would take to prevent such violations in the future.
“At the old location, they had three violations of selling to underage people,” said Keith Reisman, the assistant city attorney who works with the beer board. Tres Amigos got one violation after it had invested in an ID scanning machine, he said.
Tres Amigos owner Janet Hamill couldn’t be reached for comment after the meeting.
The city shouldn’t be faulted for slowing down the restaurant’s beer permit, said Assistant Fire Marshal Chuck Hartung, since he inspected the new location on the same day that the owner requested it – when inspections typically require a four- or five-day wait.
“They begged us, and we went that day,” Hartung told the Beer Board after its vote during a public comment period at the end of the meeting in City Council chambers. “We feel like we actually went beyond the call of duty.”
In other business, a request to sell beer at Milk and Honey, a popular breakfast, lunch and gelato eatery at 135 N. Market St. in North Chattanooga, was postponed for two weeks.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@times freepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.