Beer sales will be suspended for a week starting next Thursday at Spare Time Chattanooga, a combination bowling alley, arcade, laser tag arena, full-service restaurant and bar at 5518 Brainerd Road that opened in October in the former Holiday Bowl.
That's because a bartender served an underage decoy during an Aug. 15 sting by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).
"It was a 30-year experienced bartender who had never failed a sting before. There was no excuse for it, she just screwed up. She was terminated that night," David Posternak, district manager for Spare Time Entertainment, the Vermont-based bowling chain that owns the Brainerd bowling center, told the Chattanooga Beer Board at its meeting Thursday morning.
The beer board was required to match a previous seven-day suspension of wine and liquor sales ordered by the TABC for the Aug. 15 violation. Spare Time Chattanooga also sold to a minor on May 23, and opted to pay a $1,000 fine for that.
A bubble wall is at the entrance to the restaurant at Spare Time Entertainment.Posternak said Spare Time Entertainment, which has 16 bowling centers around the eastern U.S., including one in Hixson, has strict policies regarding alcohol sales, it makes sure its employees are trained to check IDs and hasn't had violations over the years.
"We've actually never had an issue in 49 years - until Chattanooga," Posternak said.
The Beer Board also voted Thursday to give a seven-day suspension or a $1,000 fine to the Kangaroo/Circle K at 3407 Amnicola Highway for sale to a minor during an Aug. 22 sting.
A Circle K logo is shown.The gas station's owner, Mehul Shah, told the beer board he's the franchisee for 10 Chattanooga-area Kangaroo/Circle K stores and five others in Tennessee.
Shah said he missed the beer board's Sept. 7 meeting when his store's violation was on the agenda because "the employee never gave [the citation] to us. He crumpled it up."
Beer board members urged Shah to require additional employee training and to consider point-of-sale systems to check customers' age.
"You've got 10 stores where probably the same thing is going on, and that's worrisome," beer board Chairman Ron Smith said.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetfor business or 423-757-6651.