Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission

Other LBD establishments

Clubs

Commercial Airlines

Commercial Passenger Boat Company

Community Theater

Convention Center

Historic Interpretive Center

Historic Mansion House Site

Historic Performing Arts Center

Hotel

Museum

Passenger Train

Premiere Type Tourist Resort

Urban Park Center

Zoological Insitution

Clubs: a nonprofit association organized and existing under the laws of the state of Tennessee, which has been in existence and operating as a nonprofit association for at least two (2) years prior to the application for a license, having at least one hundred (100) members regularly paying dues, organized and operated exclusively for pleasure, recreation and other nonprofit purposes, no part of the net earnings of which inures to the benefit of any shareholder or member; and owning, hiring or leasing a building or space therein for the reasonable use of its members with suitable kitchen and dining room space and equipment and maintaining and using a sufficient number of employees for cooking, preparing and serving meals for its members and guests; provided that no member or officer, agent or employee of the club is paid, or directly or indirectly receives, in the form of salary or other compensation, any profits from the sale of spirituous liquors, wines, champagnes or malt beverages beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed by its members at an annual meeting or by its governing body out of the general revenue of the club. Tips which are added to the bills under club regulations shall not be considered as profits hereunder. The alcoholic beverage commission shall have specific authority through rules and regulations to define with specificity the terms used herein and to impose additional requirements upon applicants seeking a club license not inconsistent with the dfeinition above;

Club also means an organization composed of members of the Tennessee national guard, air national guard, or other active or reserve military units which operate facilities located on land owned or leased by the state of Tennessee and which are operated exclusively for the pleasure and recreation of such organization's members, dependents and guests and which are generally referred to as "NCO Clubs" or "Officers Clubs." Such NCO or officers clubs shall be subject to all of the requirements mentioned above except for those relating to having a kitchen, kitchen equipment, and employees;

Club also means a nonprofit association organized and existing under the laws of the state of Tennessee which is located in a county having a population of not less than 28,660 nor more than 28,690 according to the federal census. Such club shall be located in a development containing no less than 440 acres and shall be organized and operated exclusively for the plesaure, recreation and other nonprofit purposes of its members and their guests. No part of the net earnings of the association shall inure to the benefit of any shareholder or member. The club shall provide to its members a regulation golf course, tennis courts, and a swimming pool. The club shall own, hire or lease a building or buildings for the reasonable use of its members with suitable kitchen and dining room space and equipment. Such club shall maintain and use a sufficient number of employees for cooking, preparing and serving meals for tis members and guests. No member or officer, agent or employee of the club shall be paid, or directly or indirectly receive in the form of salary or other compensation any profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages or malt beverage beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed by its members at an annual meeting, or by its governing body out of the general revenues of the club. Tips which are added to the bills under club regulations shall not be considered as profits hereunder. The alcoholic beverage commission shall have specific authority through rules and regulations to define with specificity the terms used herein and to impose additional requirements upon applicants seeking a club license not inconsistent with this definition. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (4))

Commercial airline includes any airline operating in interstate commerce under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the appropriate federal or state agency, or under exemption from the requirement of obtaining a certificate of public convenience and necessity but otherwise regulated by an appropriate federal or state agency, with adequate facilities and equipment for serving passengers on regular schedules or charter trips while moving through any county of the state, but not while any such commercial airline is stopped in a county or municipality that has not legalized such sales. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (5))

Commercial airline travel club  means an organization established and operated by or for a commercial airline as defined above for the convenience and comfort of airline passengers. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (6))

Commercial passenger boat company  means a company that operates one or more passenger vessels for hire upon navigable waterways and is licensed by the United States Coast Guard to carry not less than fifty passengers on a single vessel. Such company shall operate out of any county that has a population in excess of 285,000 or not less than 83,300 nor more than 83,400 according to the federal census. No commercial passenger boat company licensed pursuant to this chapter shall sell any type of alcoholic beverage or beer while such boat is docked within the boundaries of any local government which has not approved the sale of alcoholic beverages pursuant to T.C.A. 57-4-103. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (7))

Community theater  means a facility or theater possessing each of the following characteristics:

A. The community theater is at least eight years old;
B. the theater is operated by a not-for-profit corporation which is exempt from taxation under 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)) as amended, where no member or officer, agent or employee of any community theater shall be paid, or directly or indirectly receive, in the form of salary or other compensation any profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed by its governing body for the reasonable performance of their assigned duties. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a not-for-profit corporation shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the community theater, and in furtherance of the purposes of the organization. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a not-for-profit corporation shall be used for the operation, renovation, refurbishing and maintenance of the theater. No alcoholic beverages or beverages of any kind shall be possessed or consumed inside the auditorium of such theater during performances in such auditorium;
C. The theater provides or leases facilities for theatrical programs of cultural, civic, and educational interest;
D. The theater is located in any county having a population of not less than 700,000 according to the federal census; and
E. Alcoholic beverages may be sold only during one performance or benefit program a day and only one hour before, during and one hour after the performance or benefit program. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (9))

Convention center  means a facility possessing each of the following characteristics:

A. Owned by the state, municipal and/or county government and leased or operated by that government or by a nonprofit charitable corporation established to operate such facility;
B. Designed and used for the purposes of holding meetings, conventions, trade shows, classes, dances, banquets and various artistic, musical or other cultural events;
C. A convention center does not include a building located within 1,000 yards of both a student museum and a zoological park; provided, however, that any restaurant, located within a former world's fair site or zoological park and which meets the requirements of subdivision (19), shall be eligible for licensure under this chapter as long as the requirements of this chapter are otherwise met;
D. A convention center also does not include a building which is more than twenty years old and is located in any county having a population of not less than 287,700 nor more than 287,800 according to the federal census;
E. Which state-owned facility, operated by a nonprofit charitable corporation established to operate such facility, has a designated, restricted area outside the seating area of any theater within which area the consumption of such alcoholic beverages shall be permitted. The sale of such alcoholic beverages in such facility is limited to no more than one hour and fifteen minutes prior to a meeting, show, performance, reception or other similar event, and to no later than thirty minutes after such event; and
F. Located in a municipality having a population in excess of 150,000 and in a county having a population in excess of 200,000 or both, according to the federal census;

Convention center also means a facility meeting the above criteria and located in a premiere resort city and owned by the state, municipal and/or county government and leased or operated by that government or by a nonprofit charitable corporation established to operate such facility. No member or officer, agent or employee of any convention center as defined by this section shall be paid, or directly or indirectly receive, in the form of salary or other compensation any profits from the sale of spirituous liquors, wines, champagnes, malt beverages or any other alcoholic beverages beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed by its governing body out of the general revenue of the center. All profits from the sale of such alcoholic beverages shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the convention center. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (10))

Historic interpretive center means a facility possessing each of the following characteristics:

A. The center is located in a restored theater that is at least fifty years old and listed on the national register of historic places;
B. The center is leased and operated by a for-profit corporation, or not-for-profit corporation which is exempt from taxation under 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a not-for-profit corporation shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the historic interpretive center, and in furtherance of the purposes of the organization. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a profit corporation shall be used for the operation, renovation, refurbishing and maintenance of the center. Alcoholic beverages may be consumed inside the auditorium of such center;
C. The center provides facilities for programs of cultural, civic and education interest, including, but not limited to, musical concerts, films, receptions, exhibitions, seminars or meetings; and
D. The center is located in any county having a population of not less than 700,000 according to the federal census. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (11))

Historic mansion house site means the buildings and grounds of a historic mansion house, located in any county having a metropolitan form of government, included in the Tennessee register of historic places, and operated by the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and including Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities sites owned by the state of Tennessee. This subsection shall apply only to counties having a population of 450,000 or greater according to the federal census; Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (12))

Historic performing arts center means a facility possessing each of the following characteristics:

A. The center is located in a restored theater that is at least fifty years old and listed on the national register of historic places;
B. The center operated by a for-profit corporation, or not-for-profit corporation which is exempt from taxation under 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a not-for-profit corporation shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the historic performing arts center, and in furtherance of the purposes of the organization. All profits from the sale of alcoholic beverages by a profit corporation shall be used for the operation, renovation, refurbishing and maintenance of the center. Alcoholic beverages shall only be sold before or after performances or during intermissions in such performances. No alcoholic beverages shall be consumed inside the auditorium of such center;
C. The center provides facilities for programs of cultural, civic and education interest, including, but not limited to, musical concerts, films, receptions, exhibitions, seminars or meetings; and
D. The center is located in any county having a population of not less than 300,000 nor more than 400,000 or in any county having a population of not less than 700,000 according to the federal census. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (13))

Museum means a building or institution serving as a repository of natural, scientific or literary curiosities or works of art for public display and further possesses the following characteristics:

A. The museum is at least fifty years old; and
B. The museum is located in a county having a population in exess of 700,000 according to the federal census Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (15))

Passenger train includes any passenger train operating in interstate commerce under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the appropriate federal or state agency, with adequate facilities and equipment for serving passengers on regular or special schedules or charter trips while moving through any county of the state but not while any such passenger train is stopped in a county or municipality that has not legalized such sales Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (16))

Premiere type tourist resort means: 

A. A commercially operated recreational facility possessing each of the following characteristics:

1. Ownership and operation by a profit type corporation having a capitalization of not less than ten million dollars;
2. Situated in a geographical area wholly controlled by the operator of the facility and having not less than 6,000 acres of contiguous land, not less than 5,000 of which is to be developed and maintained in accordance with sound ecological and environmental practices, such requirement to be subject at all times to the oversight and approval of the department of conservation, which shall not less often than once a year make a written report thereof to the commission. Satisfactory compliance with this requirement and certification thereof by the department to the commission shall be a condition precedent to the issuance or renewal of permit provided for in T.C.A. 57-4-201;
3. Continuous maintenance of lodging accommodations consisting of not less than 200 hotel or motel rooms in a building or buildings designed for such purpose;
4. Continuous maintenance of facilities for the accommodation of conventions of not less than 400 persons;
5. Maintenance within the recreational area of at least one of the following types of sporting facilities: a golf course of at least 18 holes, a lake covering not less than one hundred acres adapted for boating and fishing, a ski slope;
6. Maintenance, in addition to one or more of the facilities enumerated in subdivision (17)(A)(5), of two or more of the following types of recreational facilities: area for camping, tennis courts, swimming pool, trails for hiking and/or horseback riding, equestrian center;
7. A 24 hour per day security force approved as to adequacy by the commission;

B. A hotel, motel or restaurant located within a municipality having a population of 1,000 or more persons, according to the federal census, in which at least fifty percent of the assessed valuation (as shown by the tax assessment rolls or books of the municipality) of the real estate in the municipality consists of hotels, motels and tourist courts accommodations, provided the voters of the municipality have heretofore by referendum pursuant to T.C.A. 57-4-103, approved the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, and such referendum shall be authorized, notwithstanding the population requirements set forth in T.C.A. 57-3-106. For purposes of implementation of this subdivision (17)(B), the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be limited to hotels, restaurants and clubs as defined in this section. To ensure proper control and development of the tourist industry of such municipality, any applicant for a license under this subdivision shall first obtain approval from a majority of the legislative body of the municipality, which may adopt rules and regulations governing its procedure and setting forth limitations and restrictions including, but not limited to, the number and location of licensed establishments and requiring approval by the legislative body as to to the good moral character of each applicant for a license; or

C. A commercially operated recreational facility containing all of the following characteristics:

1. Ownership and operation by a profit type corporation or partnership;
2. Situated in a geographical area controlled by the operator of the facility, having not less than 2,500 acres of land;
3. Continuous maintenance of lodging accommodations consisting of not less than one hundred hotel or motel rooms in a building or buildings designed for such purpose;
4. The maintenance of a ski slope with necessary lifts or tows for use during skiing season;
5. Continuous maintenance of restaurant facilities for seating at tables of not less than 200 persons, with adequate kitchen facilities; and
6. Located within a municipality with a population of not less than 1,050 nor more than 1,075, according to the federal census;

To ensure proper control and development of the tourist industry of such municipality, any applicant for a license under this subdivision shall first obtain approval from a majority of the legislative body of the municipality, which may adopt rules and regulations governing its procedure and setting forth limitations and restrictions including, but not limited to, the number and location of licensed establishments and requiring approval by the legislative body as to to the good moral character of each applicant for a license;

D. A commercially operated recreational facility containing all of the following characteristics:

1. Ownership and development by a for-profit corporation or partnership;
2. Situated in a geographical area controlled by the corporation or partnership, having not less than 400 acres of land contiguous to the Cherokee National Forest
3. Continuous maintenance of lodging accommodations consisting of not less than 200 hotel or motel rooms in a building or buildings designed for such purpose;
4. Continuous maintenance of facilities for the accommodations of conventions of not less than 400 persons;
5. Maintenance within the recreational area of the following types of recreational facilities; a golf course of at least 18 holes, tennis courts, swimming pool and a 24 hour per day security force approved as to adequacy by the commission;and

E. A commercially operated recreational facility containing all of the following characteristics:

1. Ownership and operation by a for-profit corporation or partnership;
2. Located in a geographic area managed by the operator of the facility, containing a minimum area of 150 contiguous acres;
3. Continuous maintenance of lodging accommodations consisting of not less than 50 rooms available for guests, tourists or for business meetings located in a building or buildings designed for accommodations or business meetings;
4. Maintenance of lakeside marina facilities, a golf course of not less than 18 holes, and riding trails and stables on the premises;
5. Located within a municipality with a population of not less than 6,400 according to the federal census;
6. Whose manager shall have been specifically approved by a majority of the legislative body of the municipality in which such license is located as being an individual of good moral character. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (17))

Urban park center means a facility possessing the following characteristics:

1. The center is owned, operated, or leased by a municipal or county government, or any agency or commission thereof;
2. The center is designed to contain outdoor recreational facilities, public museum buildings, exhibition buildings, retail sales areas, retail food dispensing outlets including, but not limited to, sales of package alcoholic and malt beverages, and restaurant areas to accommodate liquor-by-the-drink as well as food patronage; and
3. The center is located in a municipality or county having a population in excess of 600,000 according to the federal census;

No member or officer, agent or employee of any urban park center as defined by this section shall be paid, or directly or indirectly receive in the form of salary or other compensation any profits from the sale of spirituous liquors, wines, champagnes, malt beverages or any other alcoholic beverages beyond the amount of such salary as may be fixed by its governing body out of the general revenue of the urban park center. All profits from the sale of such alcoholic beverages shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the urban park center. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (22))

Zoological institution means a facility which contains a zoological garden or collection of living animals and provides for their care and housing for public exhibition and further possesses the following characteristics:

1. The zoo is owned, operated or leased by a municipal or county government;
2. The zoo is at least 50 years old and
3. The zoo is located in a county having a population in excess of 700,000 according to the federal census. Return to Top (T.C.A. 57-4-102 (24))