The Chattanooga Beer Board voted to impose a $750 civil penalty on Uptown Reload and gave the establishment 60 days to correct its beer permit after a multi-month review found the license information on file did not match ownership records.

The action follows a hearing officer’s written recommendation that the board impose a $500 penalty for operating without a proper beer permit. The hearing officer’s report, read into the record, “recommend[ed] that the beer board impose a $500 civil penalty” based on the totality of the circumstances, but several board members urged a larger fine during the meeting’s deliberations.

Board members debated competing proposals at length. One board member moved to increase the fine to $1,000 and require 30 days to correct the license; another proposed keeping the $500 penalty but extending the cure period to 60 days. After motions and votes on amendments, the board adopted an alternative motion — moved and seconded during the meeting — setting the penalty at $750 and the cure period at 60 days.

Nathan Benford, who identified himself to the board as the applicant, told the board his sister-in-law was submitting a new application to place his name correctly on the permit. Charles Smith, identified in the hearing as the manager, said he had believed the license and paperwork were in order and that “it was not a fraud in license or nothing like that. At the time, all the paperwork was intact. We was not operating illegally.”

Board members pressed for clarity about how the permit name changes occurred in the city’s records. The transcript record and board discussion show the permit information moved between names in the city system over several years; board members and staff said some of those changes appear in the city records but the precise cause was not established in the hearing. The hearing officer’s report and subsequent board discussion cite violations of municipal code provisions for operating without a proper beer permit (see authorities list below).

The board also clarified procedural details tied to the order: the adopted order requires payment of the civil penalty within seven days and gives Uptown Reload 60 days from the board’s decision to correct and file the properly named application or documentation. Board members discussed whether the business may continue to operate while the correction is pending; the board’s order allows the establishment to remain open during the 60-day cure period while staff and the business work to complete regulatory steps.

Several board members said they wanted clearer checks in the permit and renewal process to prevent future mismatches between ownership and the name listed on a permit. The board requested staff and legal review of the administrative citation and related forms to ensure the municipal-code requirement (that a permittee must file a written answer within a set period) is made clear on the citation itself.

The board’s action resolves the specific case for Uptown Reload (the board’s record refers to the business as Uptown Reload, District 9) and leaves open staff follow-up to confirm the corrected application and to document how the permit name changes occurred in city systems.

The board handled other licensing items at the same meeting, including sending El Sol Super Mercado’s new application back to regulatory for additional review and deferring TWS Golf LLC’s application to the next meeting.