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Beer board defers Cabanas ownership-change application after finding expired permits and missing national background check
Summary
The Chattanooga Beer Board deferred an ownership-change application for Cabanas Nightclub after staff confirmed related permits expired Dec. 31, 2024, the applicant acknowledged ongoing sales at other locations, and the required national background check remained outstanding.
The Chattanooga Beer Board on a unanimous vote moved to defer application number 1378 for Cabanas Nightclub and Event Center LLC after board staff told members that several related beer permits showed 12/31/2024 expiration dates and a national background check for an owner had not been completed.
Officer Cowan, citing the regulatory record, told the board, “It’s showing an expiration date in the system of 12/31/2024.” Board members pressed the applicant about ownership and compliance; the application caption listed Gabriel Sosa and Jesus Esquivel as proposed owners and named Deanna Duncan as the property owner.
Applicant Jesus Esquivel, sworn before the board, said he is a minority partner and described problems receiving renewal notices: “I didn’t get the renewals in order to be able to do that,” he told the board when asked why permits had lapsed. Under board procedure, owners with 5% or greater interest must have background checks on file; staff said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation check had cleared but the national background check was still pending and the board could not approve the application without it.
Board members and staff also discussed enforcement for other locations connected to the applicants. Sergeant Cowan confirmed citations had not yet been issued but staff said violations would be scheduled for the beer-board agenda after service. The board noted a separate enforcement action: staff received a $1,000 payment related to a prior violation at Cabanas.
A motion to defer the application to the next Beer Board meeting passed on a roll call: Christie — yes; Brooke — yes; Veronica — yes; JW — yes; Betsy — yes; Zach — yes; Chair — yes. The board asked that regulatory staff complete the outstanding national background check and that the applicant arrange to have any missing filings submitted before the next hearing.
The board also advised the applicant how to proceed with lapsed permits: check spam folders for renewal notices, or submit a new online application if a permit has expired for more than a year; staff said valid background checks may be reused within a year once completed.
The board deferred final action on the Cabanas application until the national background check and any corrected ownership documentation are on file.
