Two quick marts that were cited to the beer board on Thursday for selling beer to a minor, blamed new employees, who the owners said made mistakes. Discount Mart, 4300 Norcross Road sold beer to an underage buyer on Dec. 15 during a compliance check of 11 stores in the Hixson and North Chattanooga area. That sale was made without asking to see an ID to verify age. The clerk who made the sale also claimed he could not tell the difference in the packaging of a beer and thought he was selling an energy drink.
Board Member Brooke King said she had a problem about the statement claiming that beer and energy drinks look alike The cash register required a scan and it, too, failed to recognize the beverage was alcoholic, said the owner of the business. Board Member Monica Kinsey suggested making it a policy to check IDs of all sales. The motion passed for a 15-day suspension of the beer license starting on Jan. 27. within the next 30 days. All owners will also have to go through mandatory training in beer sales.
The same compliance check found that Harry’s #23, 305 Frazier Road, also sold beer to a minor on Dec. 15 without asking to see an ID. The representative from the HDP Corporation, Nick Milne said the company has polices for checking age but the clerk was not paying attention and just made a mistake. This clerk was not let go and is undergoing more training and still working with more supervision. The license was suspended for three days beginning on Jan. 27.
A hearing for multiple violations from Mystik Food Mart, 2413 4th Ave., was postponed again. Thursday was the third time the violations had been on the agenda beginning in December. The business has been charged with serious infractions of the city’s beer code.
The first was a failure to have a permit for the sale of beer. This occurred from Jan. 1, 2021 until Nov. 11, 2021. Attorney John Wolfe, representing the owners, Tennessee Avenue Inc., told the board the $100 yearly privilege tax had been paid when it was realized they were in violation. The board issued a letter of reprimand to be put in the business’s file.
The failure to report all fights and disorders took place has been ongoing and include an assault in the parking lot that left a man bleeding with cuts on his face. A disorder with a weapon (aggravated assault) between two sisters one who pulled a gun on the other and a girlfriend. Another incident was a drive-by shooting that wounded on man on his ankle and left bullet holes in doors of the surrounding buildings and cars that were parked in front of the Mystic Mart. There have also been robberies and dealing and using narcotics at the business. The hearings were postponed until the next beer board meeting on Feb. 3 in order to get access for viewing surveillance videos.