Beer board sustains two violations at The Dream; offers $500 civil penalty in lieu of a 3‑day suspension and imposes a 7‑day suspension

The Chattanooga Beer Board on a 5‑to‑2 vote (with one abstention) sustained a hearing officer’s findings that Major Paper Entertainment LLC, doing business as The Dream, violated two provisions of the city beer code and adopted a mixed penalty: the board offered a $500 civil penalty in lieu of the recommended three‑day suspension for failing to report fights (section 5‑51B) and imposed a seven‑day suspension for operating the establishment in a disorderly manner (section 5‑50B(15)). The permit holder has seven days to pay the civil penalty in lieu of the three‑day suspension; if the amount is not paid, the suspension will be imposed.

The hearing officer, Trevor Ashley, filed his recommendation on March 11, 2025, concluding the permit should be suspended three days for failing to report all fights or other public disorders immediately to the Chattanooga Police Department (section 5‑51B) and seven days for operating in a disorderly manner (section 5‑50B(15)). At the board meeting, counsel for Major Paper Entertainment objected to the hearing officer’s reading of the ordinance and argued that the word “allow” in the code requires proof of intentional acquiescence rather than strict liability: “Allow is not consistent with strict liability,” the attorney told the board.

Board members debated whether to sustain the hearing officer’s recommendation and whether the suspensions should run concurrently or consecutively. The panel initially voted to sustain the hearing officer’s recommendation and to run the three‑ and seven‑day suspensions consecutively (a ten‑day total) but later voted to reconsider and rescind that consecutive‑days decision. After further discussion—during which the panel heard that the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission had briefly summarily suspended service and later imposed a $1,000 civil penalty before lifting the suspension after viewing video evidence—the board adopted a revised penalty package.

The final motion (moved by Zach Atley) sustained the two violations and set the penalty structure the board adopted: a $500 civil penalty offered in lieu of the three‑day suspension for the 5‑51B violation, with a seven‑day window for payment, and a seven‑day suspension for the 5‑50B(15) violation. The board recorded the roll call: Christie (yes), Veronica Epstein (abstain), Ron Smith (yes), JW (no), Reginald (no), Betsy (yes), Zach Atley (yes) and the chair (yes). The motion carried with five affirmative votes.

Board discussion touched on scope and foreseeability: counsel for the permit holder argued the shooting that followed a fight was a sudden, random act that did not demonstrate the business “allowed” the disturbance; others, including some board members, said the presence of security and firearms made such an outcome foreseeable and warranted a stronger sanction. The board also considered the establishment’s prior disciplinary history: the record shows a prior five‑day suspension adopted by the board on Feb. 6, 2025 for a separate violation, and the Tennessee commission had taken separate, brief action after later incidents.

The board did not specify exact calendar dates for the seven‑day suspension in the meeting minutes; staff were instructed to file the board’s order and to apply the code’s payment window (seven days) for the civil‑penalty alternative to the three‑day suspension.