TN Liquor Laws (Maryville: college, restaurant, under 21)

[malk&cookies]

I was wondering what Tennessee's liquor laws are like? I know here in New Mexico, they put a tremendous amount of the blame and responsibility on the severs and owners while allowing personal accountability to go right out the window. It is also almost prohibitively expensive to get a liquor license (upwards of $100,000-$200,000). Does anyone know what the situation is out there?

[alleycat]

I don't know the exact costs involved, but it doesn't seem to be that difficult or expensive to get a license to serve liquor in a bar in Nashville as long as you don't have any kind of criminal record. I'm pretty sure it doesn't cost $100,000 to do so.

If you were talking about a liquor store, it could be difficult because there's a lot of politics involved (the current owners protect their turf).

[artemis]

A lot of it does fall on the servers & owners. Some even get their liquor license suspended over it.

Getting a servers license is fairly easy. You have to take a course, and a test. I think the whole deal was around $100, and good for 4 yrs.

[malk&cookies]

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease. I am in no way saying that owners and servers should not be held responsible for their actions, but this is a state that has a particularly large number of alcohol related problems, and they are accordingly strict about it. In New Mexico you can put up that kind of money for a liquor license and then lose it over a single incident. This is part of the reason that we are leaving. I am talking about in a bar setting, rather than package liquor, but thank you for the information.

[hugs_n_kisses]

how old must you be to obtain a liquor license in the state of tennessee?

[artemis]

To serve liquor? 18

(with a server permit)

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by hugs_n_kisses

how old must you be to obtain a liquor license in the state of tennessee?

21 and over

[artemis]

It was 18 (to serve, not to drink) when I took my test 3 yrs ago.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by artemis

It was 18 (to serve, not to drink) when I took my test 3 yrs ago.

You are correct on the serving but to obtain the license to sell, as the OP mentioned, it is 21 or over. The 21 or over can hire under 21 with a permit but the main responsible person must be over 21 and I believe that there must always be an over 21 present during the serving of alcohol. There is a fee but it was not $100K - $200K. Our very good friends just opened a restaurant here in Maryville and some co-workers opened a liquor store back this summer.

[artemis]

My husband & I worked for a very large music venue in Nashville. Many of the servers were college kids who were not yet 21, and they had to have their permits in order to serve.