Pro pub move by Town?
Following several months of discussion and workshopping, Farragut’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen will consider two new ordinance amendments this Thursday, Aug. 27, which should help at least two businesses in the coming months.
Andy Fox, owner of Admiral Pub, had come to BOMA in June during a work session asking for a change to the current Tavern Permit ordinance, which limited square footage.
During that same workshop, Carlos Cortez, who co-owns Admiral’s Corner with Doug Justus, asked for consideration of their plans to open a microbrewery and brew pub, neither one of which was defined or supported within Town ordinances.
Both BOMA and Farragut Municipal Planning Commission worked on the ordinance language with Town administrator David Smoak and Assistant to the administrator Trevor Hobbs as recently as last week during the regular FMPC meeting.
The first ordinance, 20-09 has two parts. The first concerns “Tavern Permit,” which would increase the current square footage limit from 3,500 to 4,500 square feet, and also require that food sales account for 20 percent of gross sales.
Secondly, the ordinance would define microbrewery as “an establishment licensed by the State of Tennessee for the small-scale manufacture, blending, fermentation, processing, packaging and distribution of beer or malt beverages, for on-site consumption, sale and limited wholesale distribution, where all on-site consumption shall be associated with a permitted Brewpub meeting all regulatory requirements of the Town of Farragut and the State of Tennessee, in conformance with the Town’s Beer Ordinance and related permits.”
It also defines “brewpub,” which contains much of the above language, while adding it would be “operating in conjunction with an eating establishment involving the preparation and serving of food to seated patrons in addition to on-premise consumption of beer or malt beverages, including beer produced at the microbrewery on the same premises.”
This also would create a new Class 7 Brewpub permit with the following requirements: “be housed in building space and/or tenant space that does not exceed 6,500 gross square feet; shall not produce more than 2,500 barrels of beer or malt beverage per year; shall not distribute at wholesale more than 25 percent of its annual production, in barrels; food and non-alcoholic beverage sales shall account for a minimum of 20 percent of gross annual sales from all on-premise sales; and in no event will a permit be issued authorizing the manufacture or storage of beer, or the sale of beer within 340 feet of any school or church.
BOMA also will consider a second related ordinance, 20-16, which would stipulate the Town would only allow three brewpubs in Town limits and only be permitted in C-1, General Commercial district locations, including the C-1 Mixed-Use Town Center Overlay District; C-2, neighborhood Convenience Commercial; and OD-RE/E Outlet Drive Regional Entertainment and employment district.
In addition to Hobbs’ work on the ordinances, Town assistant director of Community Development Bart Hose also contributed to the research on microbreweries and related regulations.
Both ordinances will be discussed and considered as a first reading.
BOMA also will be voting on second reading on its amended Sign Ordinance, and prior to Thursday’s 7 p.m. meeting, is set to meet in a workshop beginning at 6 p.m. to discuss short-term rentals and the Town’s Traffic Calming Policy.
