Written by 
At the August 29, 2019 meeting of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (“TABC”), Law Enforcement Chief Bond Tubbs provided a report of TABC enforcement activity over the last month. As the statistics show, nearly all of the citations were for violations that are easily preventable. We often feel like a broken record skipping to the tune of the same old advice, but here it goes: (1) please remember to post your permits and licenses, pregnancy notices, and all other required documents; (2) please educate your servers and clerks on ID checking and, if necessary, sign your staff up for the TABC’s free ID checking class – at the very least, consider investing in ID scanning technology at your register or posting daily the required date of birth for purchase; (3) remember to timely renew your license when prompted by the TABC; and (4) remember to keep the identity of your managers disclosed and current with the TABC – if you also hold a beer permit from your local municipality, these requirements will pertain to your beer permit as well.
Enforcement Activity
- TABC agents conducted 701 inspections and issued 112 regulatory citations
- Citations issued generated $155,000.00 in revenue
- Reasons for citations:
- Failure to timely renew license
- Failure of servers to hold server permits
- Failure to post license on wall
- Selling alcohol without a license
- Underage/minor sale violations
- Unlawfully ordering alcohol from the internet
- Of the 701 inspections conducted, the TABC conducted 372 underage sale/minor compliance checks. Of the businesses inspected, 16% of those sold to a minor (84% compliance rate)
- Three individuals were arrested for illegally ordering alcohol online
The major takeaway from the data above is that the TABC is out there, very actively inspecting industry members. Being issued a citation, or multiple citations in a two-year period can cost you money in the form of fines and days without service due to license suspension. License revocation is also a very real possibility for repeat offenders. If you have any questions about your business’ compliance or other regulatory matters, please do not hesitate to give us a call.
Last modified: September 3, 2019
