After a week long investigation, this morning East Nashville News submitted a long list of proposed violations and supporting documentation to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission & related agents, for the express purpose of supporting the removal of the liquor license of Cloud IX, LLC, due to mismanagement. While the removal of the liquor license is but one portion of shutting down the operations of a business, it would also ensure that the same company/owner/managers, and even employees could be restricted from getting another liquor license in the future. TABC does confirm a coordinated investigation by the TABC, Metro Beer Board, and MNPD of these and related allegations is currently underway. We can also confirm a search warrant was served on the location Thursday afternoon 12/14/17.
An outline of some of the violations:
- The named licensed entity has been dissolved by the state (Cloud IX, LLC)
- Free Alcohol Violation
- Happy Hour Times Violation
- Financial Management Violation
Here are some of the items of note:
TABC Law states that a licensed business must be property registered with the Secretary of State:
The TABC issued a liquor license to “Cloud IX, LLC” in January of 2017. As we previously reported, “Cloud IX, LLC” has been dissolved by the Secretary of State, and is an inactive business entity, and cannot legally operate in the state of Tennessee.
Here is the dissolved LLC status by the Secretary of State:
The Nashville Metro Beer Permit is also permitted in the defunct LLC name, too:
Free Alcohol Violation
In multiple advertisements throughout the year, there have been mentions of “FREE” and “COMPLIMENTARY” alcohol, in direct violation of the law:
An employee actually confirmed that the free liquor was ‘IF’ you purchased a hookah first, but no where in the advertisement is that stated, and that is still free liquor under the regulations:
Happy Hour Restrictions:
During the 4-4-1 promotion (4 drinks for the price of one), 4 drinks were served to 1 person routinely, as shown below:
Violations of the happy hour time frame, which ends at 10PM by law:
Financial Responsibility
As previously reported, the landlord states the business is currently over $175,000 behind in payments.
While East Nashville News fully supports local businesses, any business that has multiple deaths at the same location, is facing eviction for financial reasons, and takes no responsibility for any of the happenings at the location, including the outright denial of a rental/lease debt that is public record, is not managed responsibly. A duty of a small business is to protect not only that business but also it’s patrons. In addition to everything else, hiring a guard company that may not be legally operating, and contracts with unlicensed armed guards, is simple mismanagement at the best, and we fully support the closure of any such business, especially when the state has already revoked their company incorporation due to lack of following proper procedures.
