Legal Documents of Sweetwater

Subject to Tennessee Code Annotated, § 57-5-103, it shall be unlawful for any person to giveaway, sell, store for sale, distribute for sale, or manufacture beer without first making application to and obtaining a permit from the beer board.

1. Application. The beer board shall adopt by resolution the application form for a beer permit. Each application shall be furnished pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, § 57-5-103, and shall be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for every beer permit type, except that a special occasion permit fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) plus any other requisite fees pertaining to the acquisition of the permit. Said fee shall be in cash or equivalent payable to the City of Sweetwater. The applicant shall fully and truthfully complete each portion of the application.
2. Character. No permit will be issued by the city unless the applicant is a person of good moral character, and he must certify that he has read and is familiar with the provisions of this chapter.
3. Public notice. At least ten (10) days prior to being considered by the beer board, an announcement in a newspaper of general circulation must appear stating the name of the applicant, the type of permit desired, and the address of the premise at which the permit is desired.
4. Expired license. A permit is void at midnight of the day a permit holder ceases business for which the permit was granted and must be surrendered to the city recorder's office within five (5) working days.
5. New premises. If application is being made for an establishment that has not been constructed or is under construction, a complete site plan and floor plan must be submitted with the application. The plans must provide a description of the entire premises, including open and parking areas available to and for the use of the business. If construction is not commenced within six (6) months or is not completed within eighteen (18) months from the date of approval of the beer permit; or if after completion of the construction, the facility differs materially from the submitted plans or violates any provisions of this chapter in effect at the time of approval of the permit, any permit issued for the facility becomes immediately void.
6. Permit displayed. Each holder of a beer permit shall display and keep displayed said permit in a conspicuous place on the premises where they are authorized by that permit to conduct business. A permit is not transferable.
7. Permits available. An applicant can apply for the following types of permits: caterer permit, limited service restaurant permit, restaurant permit, off-premises permit, on-premises permit, on- and off-premises permit, festival permit, special occasion permit, and a temporary permit. (See definitions of each in § 8-201 above.)
8. Premises subject to inspection. The premises for which an applicant desires a beer permit shall be inspected by all necessary inspection officers of the city.
9. Single location. A beer permit shall be valid for only a single location except as provided in subsection (12) below, and cannot be transferred to another location.
10. Multiple businesses in same building. Where an owner operates two (2) or more restaurants or other businesses within the same building, the owner may in their discretion operate some or all such businesses pursuant to the same permit.
11. Notification of change of circumstance. Upon receiving approval and a permit from the beer board, the permit holder shall immediately notify the city recorder or their designee of any change in business ownership, management, relocation of the business, changes in the business' name, or termination of the business. Failure to notify the city within five (5) days of any of these changes shall be grounds to cite the permit holder to the beer board to show cause why the permit should not be suspended or revoked,
12. Notification of change of purpose. After receiving a permit from the beer board, if the permit holder's business or purpose for the permit changes such that the current permit (see definitions for types of permits) no longer applies to the permitted business or purpose, the permit holder shall immediately notify the city recorder or their designee. The permit holder will then be required to submit a new application for the proper type of beer permit for the business. During this revised application process, a temporary permit may be issued. Wood v. Decatur Cty. Tenn., 2014 Tenn. App. LEXIS 510 (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 25, 2014.) (Ord. #653, Sept. 1993, as replaced by Ord. #1009, March 2023 Ch8_08-05-24)