An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Booze and Food
New TN law expected to ease food mandate for bars
A decades-old law meant to discourage bars in Tennessee may quietly fall by the wayside, as Gov. Phil Bredesen is set to sign legislation that reduces how much food restaurants have to sell to get a liquor license.
When we first moved to Tennessee, I found this one of the more odd laws in the state.
The measure sets the minimum amount of food they have to sell to qualify for a liquor license to at least 15 percent of their revenues. Existing law doesn’t have a numerical standard, but says selling food has to be primary purpose of an establishment. State law does recognize bars.
In other words, there are no bars in the state, just restaurants that serve booze. Where’s the logic in that?
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Ruble Sanderson, co-owner of The Stage, Legends Corner and two other downtown music venues. “The whole thing has been absurd for years.”
Ditto. AND…on the plus side….perhaps more of these places will be ONLY 21 and up so the grown ups can smoke. 
The measure centers on a clause in the 1967 law that authorized sales of liquor by the drink in Tennessee for the first time since Prohibition. It says serving meals must be “the principal business conducted each day the restaurant is open.”
Talk about serious delayed reaction. This is a terrific state, but some of the laws are, shall we say, a bit out dated? Well, it might have something to do with the strong Southern Baptist influence, but still….that was over 40 years ago. There are a LOT of college students in Nashville, along with all those tourists.
Many Nashville bars and clubs routinely run afoul of the requirement, paying a fine of about $1,500 a month to stay in business.
You can’t force people to buy food if they don’t want it!
Earlier this year, the ABC appeared to clamp down on the food-service requirement more firmly, voting to suspend the license of one Second Avenue bar, Buck Wild Saloon, for 90 days for repeated violations. ABC also stepped up audits, telling establishments that they needed to derive at least half of their income from food sales to meet the law, according to some owners.
I repeat…. You can NOT force people to buy food, if the reason they are in the place is to get soused! Punishing a business for not being able to push food on people who don’t want it, is just plain silly.
