The Knoxville Beer Board postponed action on a permanent beer permit for Knoxville Sport Bar & Lounge on Tuesday after board members identified conflicting paperwork, questions about who signed an affidavit, and past citations at the location.

The postponement matters because the board must verify ownership and compliance history before approving a permit and because the application record contained a December 31, 2024 affidavit that the applicant said he did not sign.

Byron Ponce, the applicant, told the board he was not present during one of the cited incidents and said a staff member had been fired. Ponce said, “I was out of the country when that happens.” When board members reviewed submitted affidavits, Ponce said the December 31, 2024 signature was not his and later confirmed a May 15, 2025 affidavit bore his signature.

Council member Roberto told Ponce the board needed documentation showing the date of transfer and asked Ponce to “provide mister Byrd and the business tax office the paperwork” establishing his ownership. Mister Frost and other members expressed concern about conflicting signatures and the unresolved details around two citations: a sale-to-minor incident and a separate citation for selling without a permit on Feb. 5.

Mister Frost asked directly about the February citations and ownership timing. Ponce said he took an active ownership role in August of the prior year and repeated that he had been away during one of the incidents. The board noted the file lacked a certificate of occupancy, Department of Agriculture approval, and surrender of the previous permit; staff listed those outstanding items on the record.

Because of the unresolved documentation and questions about affidavits and prior citations, the board approved a motion to postpone the application to the July meeting. The board instructed Ponce to submit the requested ownership paperwork to Mister Byrd and the business tax office before the next meeting and told him he could work with staff for translation help if needed.

The board also stressed that no beer sales are allowed without an issued permit. The applicant said the business has remained closed while he gathers documents and the board confirmed that the previous approval in the file had been “approved pending final documentation,” meaning paperwork had not been picked up and a valid permit was not in force.

The application will return in July if the applicant supplies the requested documents and staff completes its review.