Bartlett denies special-use permit for Sticks and Stones cigar lounge after public hearing

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Bartlett voted to deny Resolution 29-25, a request for a special-use permit to allow a hookah lounge/bar/tavern smoking-lounge at 2965 N. Germantown Rd., Suite 111, after a public hearing on Aug. 26, 2025.

The city’s planning staff, represented by Sam Harris, assistant director of planning and economic development, told the board the planning commission had forwarded an unfavorable recommendation. Harris recited the item’s history: the board denied a similar special-use permit in January 2021; the business instead obtained a business license as a smoking-allowed restaurant and initially declared it would not serve liquor or host live entertainment. Planning staff said the Tennessee Code Annotated provisions that govern restaurant smoking and on-premises alcohol (as described in the staff presentation) allow a smoking-allowed restaurant to operate under limits, but that adding alcohol, live entertainment and later hours changes the primary use and would require the special-use permit now before the board.

Owners and supporters spoke in favor of the permit. Co-owner Willis White said Sticks and Stones has operated for more than four years and apologized for any oversight, saying the owners believed they had followed necessary approvals when they pursued a Tennessee ABC license. White said the lounge provides live music, a safe space for adults and draws customers to nearby Bartlett businesses. Several residents and frequent patrons — including Irene Parker and Michael Edwards — described the lounge as safe, well-run, family-friendly for adults and an asset to Bartlett. The clerk also read a series of letters into the record from residents and patrons expressing support, mentioning jobs, community value and a suspension of the establishment’s liquor privileges.

Police and code enforcement testimony was mixed. Chief Cox told the board Bartlett Police dispatch had answered 13 calls to the business in the past two years (11 in 2024 and 2 in 2025), primarily noise complaints and a few disturbances; one call this year was classified as a suspicious-person call. Planning staff and council members questioned the sequence of approvals and inspections: staff said the business applied for and obtained a liquor license effective Sept. 16, 2022; the owners and their representative said they pursued state inspections and made building updates (including the installation of a hand sink at the bar area) after opening and believed those inspections and approvals made the operation permissible. The owners acknowledged they had told the city previously they would not serve liquor or have live entertainment and described the later ABC application as an error in communication and a result of not fully understanding the permitting steps required.

During the public hearing, planning staff referenced Tennessee statutes cited in the record: TCA 39-17-1804 (rules referenced regarding smoking in restaurants) and TCA 57-4-102 (requirements tied to restaurant liquor-by-the-drink licensing, including seating and sales-mix conditions). Planning staff also noted that the City added a hookah-lounge definition in 2023 and that the current use would fall under that definition if it includes alcohol and live entertainment.

After board discussion, a motion to approve the special-use permit failed. The clerk announced that Resolution 29-25 failed. The planning commission’s unfavorable recommendation and the prior January 2021 denial were noted in the record. The board did not adopt a condition or revised permit as part of the hearing.

The public record for the item includes the planning staff presentation, the applicants’ statements acknowledging inspections and ABC licensing activity, multiple letters supporting the business, police-call statistics provided by Chief Cox, and the board’s final vote denying the special-use permit.