Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0100-01-.03 - CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
(1) Business
Management Restricted.
(a) Every licensed
business must be managed by the holder of the license or a designated manager.
The Alcoholic Beverage Commission must be notified in a manner approved by the
Commission of any change in management within seven (7) days of the
change.
(b) Each on-premises
manager, assistant manager, and/or any individual working in such capacity,
with duties that directly or indirectly impact the selling and dispensing of
alcoholic beverages, must have a valid server permit subject to the provisions
of T.C.A. § 57-3-707.
(2) Consumption on Licensed Premises. Except
as provided for in 0100-01-.08 below, no licensee shall permit alcoholic or
malt beverages to be consumed and/or sold on the licensed premises between the
hours of 3:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Monday through Saturday or between the
hours of 3:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Sunday unless the local jurisdiction has
opted out of the expanded hours. If such is the case, then the consumption
and/or sale of alcoholic beverages may begin at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
(3) Free Access to Licensed Premises Without
Warrant. Licensees must provide Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents
immediate access, without a warrant, to all parts of a licensed premise at all
times.
(4) Refusal of Cooperation.
Any licensee, licensee's agent, or licensee's employee subjects the licensee to
suspension or revocation of the liquor-by-the-drink license if they refuse to
open or disclose records, refuse to furnish information, or furnish false
and/or misleading information to an agent or representative of the Tennessee
Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
(5)
Licensees Not to Combine. No combination of licensees shall be permitted to
purchase merchandise in the name of the licensee and subsequently distribute
merchandise which they have purchased in combination with each other to any one
of the combination, and no licensee shall be permitted to transfer goods from
one to another. If any member of the combination is apprehended violating this
regulation, every member shall likewise be guilty of a violation, and it shall
also be a violation for the wholesale distributor to furnish merchandise to any
combination of licensed dealers.
(6)
Licensee Responsible for Law and Order on Licensed Premises. Each licensee will
maintain the licensed establishment in a decent, orderly, and respectable
manner and in full compliance with federal statutes, Tennessee laws, Commission
rules and regulations, and local ordinances and laws in the municipality and/or
county where licensed premises are located. Licensees remain responsible for
complying with this rule if the licensed owner or operator rents, leases, or
otherwise permits another to occupy the licensed premises.
(7) Sanitary and Fire Standards. All licensed
premises shall be kept in clean and proper sanitary condition, and in full
compliance with the provisions and regulations of all duly authorized health
authorities whether state, county, or city.
(8) On-Premises Sale by Bottle Restricted.
On-premises licensees are restricted from selling or giving away distilled
spirits by the bottle or package. Licensees have the right to sell wine,
champagne, or malt beverages by the bottle or container for on-premises
consumption. The bottle or container must be opened prior to being served to
the consumer, except as specifically provided in T.C.A. §
57-4-203.
(9) On-Premises Employees'
Activities Restricted ("B-Girl" Activity). It is unlawful for any employee or
agent of an on-premises licensee to solicit alcoholic beverages for public
consumption by the employee or agent. It is further unlawful to dispense or
consume any beverage under the pretense that it is an alcoholic beverage for
public consumption. Nothing in this section precludes an industry member, its
employees, or representatives from promoting products as permitted under Rule
0100-03-.11.
(10) Restriction as to Age of Dispensing
Employees. No person under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be permitted to
dispense, serve, or sell alcoholic or malt beverages in any establishment
licensed under the provisions of T.C.A. §§
57-4-101, et
seq.
(11) Dual Interests
Prohibited. Except as provided in Rule
0100-03-.16:
(a) No licensee holding a license issued
pursuant to T.C.A. §§
57-4-101, et seq.
and no person owning an interest, financial or otherwise, in a partnership or
corporation holding such a license, shall have any interest, directly or
indirectly, in any business licensed under the provisions of T.C.A.
§§
57-3-202 or
57-3-203.
(b) No person having any interest, financial
or otherwise, directly or indirectly, in any business licensed under the
provisions of T.C.A. §§
57-3-202 or
57-3-203 shall have any interest
in any business licensed under T.C.A. §§
57-4-101, et
seq.
(12)
Restrictions on License After Surrender or Revocation.
(a) No license will be issued to the spouse,
child or children, son-in-law or daughter-in-law, employee, or other person
having any interest in the business of a licensee whose license has been
revoked, for the privilege of doing business at the same location or in close
proximity to the location of the establishment whose license was
revoked.
(b) The Commission may
refuse to reissue a license to the same person, firm, or corporation whose
license has been revoked for one (1) year from the date of said
revocation.
(c) The Commission may
treat a surrender of a license as a revocation under the restrictions contained
in this paragraph.
(13)
Licensee Must Surrender License If Business Discontinued. Whenever any licensee
discontinues business for any reason, he shall immediately notify the
Commission in writing and surrender his license.
(14) Prohibited Practices. No licensee,
employee, or agent of a licensee shall give away any sealed package, or any
drink, of wine or alcoholic beverages except as permitted by T.C.A. §
57-3-404 and Rules
0100-03-.11 and
0100-06-.03. "Give" for the
purpose of this paragraph, shall include:
(a)
Offering or delivering any free alcoholic beverage or wine to any person or
group of persons;
(b) Offering or
delivering unlimited drinks of wine or alcoholic beverages for a fixed price if
the actual cost of all ingredients, including the alcohol and all applicable
taxes, of the drinks actually served to a customer exceeds the fixed price
charged; or
(c) Awarding any wine or
alcoholic beverages as a prize or free drink or encouraging or conducting any
game or contest which involves drinking or uses wine or alcohol as a prize or
free drink.
(15) Happy
Hour Restrictions. No licensee, employee, or agent of a licensee shall engage
in any of the following promotional practices during the period beginning at
10:00 p.m., prevailing time, until the time set by law for closing of such
licensed establishments:
(a) Serve two (2) or
more drinks or containers of alcoholic beverages to a consumer at one
time.
(b) Increase the volume of
alcohol contained in any such drink during any calendar week without increasing
proportionately the price regularly charged for such drink.
(16) Business Name Change. At least seven (7)
calendar days prior to any change in its business name or "d/b/a" name, a
licensee must submit the proposed change in writing to the Commission for
approval. Upon approval, the Commission will amend the license to reflect the
licensee's new business or "d/b/a" name.
(17) Display of License. Any person,
partnership, corporation, or other legal entity holding an on-premise
consumption liquor-by-the-drink license issued under Chapter 4 of Title 57 of
Tennessee Code Annotated, shall prominently display and post, and keep
displayed and posted, in the most conspicuous place in the licensed premises,
the license so issued.
(18) Server
Permits. On-premises consumption licensees should maintain and have
documentation of the hire date for employees that serve or handle alcohol,
on-site and available for review. Acceptable documentation includes a dated
application for employment or a dated W-4 form. If the licensee does not have
acceptable documentation of the date of hire for the employee, then it will be
deemed that the employee has worked at the licensed premises longer than
sixty-one (61) days.
(19) Seating.
All on-premise consumption licensees licensed as a restaurant shall maintain a
minimum seating for forty (40) people at tables and all on-premise consumption
licensees licensed as a hotel shall maintain a minimum seating for seventy-five
(75) people at tables during business hours with the exception of wine-only
restaurants as defined at T.C.A. § 57-4-101(c), or any other statutory
exception. Seasonal seating (i.e. outside patio seating) shall count toward
total numbers, but not toward the minimum seating requirements at tables. Seats
at bars will be counted toward the minimum number of seats at tables if the bar
is at least twenty (20) inches in depth and meals may be served and are
regularly served at the bar. Those bars containing less than twenty (20) inches
in depth will be looked at on a case by case basis with such factors as the
type of menu served, placement of the bar, and whether food is regularly served
at that bar.
(20) Minors in
Possession of Alcohol. On-premises consumption licensees must ensure that
minors do not possess or consume any alcoholic beverage-including malt
beverages or beer-on the licensed premises.
(21) Employer Responsible for Employee's
Action.
(a) Licensees are at all times
responsible for the conduct of their businesses and are at all times directly
responsible for any act or conduct of any employee which is in violation of the
state statues, the rules and regulations of the Commission, and/or any local
ordinance or federal statute whether the licensee be present at any such time
or not. This section is defined to mean that any unlawful, unauthorized, or
prohibited act on the part of a licensee's agent or employee shall be construed
as the act of the employer, and disciplinary actions will proceed as though he
were present and had an active part in such unlawful, unauthorized, or
prohibited act, and as if having been at the employer's direction and with his
knowledge.
(b) In any disciplinary
proceeding, it shall be no defense that an employee or agent of a licensee
acted contrary to order, or that a licensee did not personally participate in
the violating action or actions. However, disciplinary actions related to sales
of alcoholic beverages to minors, intra-industry violations, and trade
violations are subject to the provisions of Rule
0100-05-.07, the Responsible
Licensee Program.
(22)
Application Process for On-Premises Consumption Licenses.
(a) Applications must be submitted in a
manner specified by the Commission. The following documents must be submitted
in support of an application for license to sell alcoholic beverages for
consumption on premises:
1. Completed
application;
2. Questionnaire for
anyone having at least five percent (5%) ownership in the business, for any
officers of a corporate applicant, and for any manager, assistant manager,
and/or any individual working in such capacity and having duties which directly
or indirectly impacts on the selling and dispensing of alcoholic
beverages;
3. Lease agreements,
assignments, subleases, and/or deed to property;
4. Current Certificate of
Occupancy;
5. Inspection by the
Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission;
6. Acknowledgment of the rules and
regulations;
7. Menu;
8. Price Schedule of Drinks;
9. List of
Officers/Owners/Members/Partners;
10. Sales & Use Tax Certificate of
Registration or equivalent verification issued by the Tennessee Department of
Revenue;
11. Sufficient bond posted
with the Department of Revenue;
12.
Application fee;
13. Business
hours;
14. Current
manager(s);
15. Department of Health
issued health inspection or an equivalent document, unless otherwise prohibited
by statute; and
16. Any other
information that the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission may
request.
(b) In addition,
any of the following documents which exist must also be submitted:
1. Management agreements;
2. Bill of
sale.
Notes
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 57-1-207; 57-1-209; 57-3-104; 57-3-406; 57-3-704; 57-3-710; 57-4-101; 57-4-102; 57-4-104; 57-4-201; and 57-4-203.
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