The Silhouette's Bikini Sports Bar & Grill was ordered to suspend selling alcohol from March 21-23 after the owner admitted he sold beer and liquor last month at an event when the beer license for the 23rd Street nightclub had already expired.
The Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board voted unanimously Thursday to give Silhouette's a three-day suspension from selling beer or liquor after bar owner Jesse Raymond Kinsey Jr. said he continued to sell alcohol at the nightclub's biggest event of the year Feb. 17 even though his beer license had run out.
According to city officials, the company's beer license expired earlier this year and there was a delay in processing Kinsey's Dec. 29 application for another beer permit.
Last year, Kinsey received a letter of reprimand from the beer board after he said some customers at Silhouette's 13th anniversary party brought him some moonshine as a gift that was not permitted under his license with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
(READ MORE: City beer board OKs another bikini bar)
"I've been open for 13 years, and I previously had only two citations," Kinsey told the beer and wrecker board panel Thursday in a meeting at City Hall.
Although Kinsey said he has "tried to be truthful and candid" with the beer board, he said he felt "targeted" by a number of city inspections so far this year, including visits by fire and water inspectors along with the beer board last month.
Kinsey said his beer license was restored March 1, but the beer board still imposed the punishment due to the alcohol sales at a major event Feb. 17 when Silhouette's did not have an active beer license.
The 6,800-square-foot building that houses the bikini bar was built in 1950 and is at 1401 East 23rd St., according to property records.
The board's penalty for Silhouette's comes as the Chattanooga City Council prepares to revamp the nine-member volunteer board, splitting its oversight of alcohol sales and towing companies into different agencies.
Under the new changes proposed by Mayor Tim Kelly, most new beer permits will be issued by and investigations will be handled entirely through the Chattanooga Police Department. Appeals of the Beer Board's decisions can still be made to Hamilton County Chancery Court.
Once the change is made, wrecker cases will be heard by the Passenger Vehicle for Hire Board, which hears cases related to taxi and ride-share services.
(READ MORE: City may split beer & wrecker board)
But prior to the board split, the Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board will meet March 21 to consider a proposal from the mayor's office to boost city wrecker fees by 3.09% to cover increases in the overall cost of living. The increases, if approved, would boost the daytime tow rate to $232 and the nighttime tow rate to $258 and an extra winching charges of $309 an hour.
(READ MORE: City considers doubling wrecker fees in 2022)
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Staff Photo by Dave Flessner / The Silhouette's Bikini Sports Bar & Grill at East 23rd St., shown here Thursday, is getting a three-day suspension of its alcohol license this month after selling beer and liquor in February after its permit had expired.