The Chattanooga Beer & Wrecker Board went almost 14 months without hearing a violation case because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it heard four cases on Thursday.
In two of its cases, it handed out similar penalties to what the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which governs wine and alcohol sales, had given the restaurants which it had found guilty of serving to minors on numerous occasions.
It handed out a 30-day suspension beginning Aug. 16 to the Cheesecake Factory at Hamilton Place after agents found that the restaurant sold alcohol to a minor on four occasions. The city’s beer board often works in conjunction with state alcohol regulators on things like server certifications and punishments and voted unanimously to also suspend beer sales at the restaurant for 30 days during the same time period.
Special Agent Travis Patton with the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission said it is the commission’s policy to return to an establishment within 90 days of a violation and found the Cheesecake Factory in violation on May 28, 2020, Aug. 18, 2020, Oct. 27, 2020 and Jan. 22, 2021. A warning was issued after the first, but a mandatory $1,500 fine was issued for the second. A $10,000 fine was issued after the fourth. A manager was found to have been one of the servers who sold alcohol to at least one of the minors, according to Officer Patton.
An attorney from Nashville representing the restaurant group spoke to the board apologizing for the violations and assured them the company takes such matters seriously and has fired several people involved in the incidents and put others on probation and required additional training.