Etowah City Commission votes against downtown distillery

Owner vows to push on; says council doesn't have authority to stop whiskey production

Etowah City Commissioner Jim Bull.
Etowah City Commissioner Jim Bull.
photo 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.

"What was on the agenda was North [Etowah] Baptist Church wanted to speak," Gravely said.

City Commissioner Jim Bull made a motion that was supported by Commissioners Jason Cardin and Jim Swain. Mayor Burke Garwood and Vice Mayor David James were opposed.

The vote was to create a resolution that would exempt the city from whiskey distillation, Gravely said.

City Attorney Russ Blair will draft the resolution, Gravely said, for a vote at the City Commission's October meeting, or earlier, if the commission calls a special called meeting.

Blair declined to comment Wednesday.

Asked if the city has the authority to block the distillery, Gravely said, "I hesitate to give any opinion, to be honest with you."

Tennessee's whiskey laws were changed to allow the establishment of small distilleries in 41 additional counties to the three allowed before 2013, where Jack Daniels and George Dickel were produced (Lincoln, Moore, and Coffee).

Bull and Swain are both members of North Etowah Baptist Church, Gravely said.

Bull declined to comment Wednesday.

"I have no comment to make about it, and that's what I want printed in the paper," he said.

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetfor business or 423-757-6651.

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