Can a Memphis bar on a street that crosses Beale Street (north or south) qualify for the same 5 a.m. alcohol-sales window that Beale Street businesses get?

Subject

Opinion No. 13-73, Hours for Sale of Alcoholic Beverages, September 19, 2013

Plain-English summary

Rep. Antonio Parkinson asked whether bars and restaurants on streets running north or south of Beale Street in Memphis could share the 5 a.m. alcohol-sales window that bars on Beale Street itself enjoyed. The AG said no.

Tennessee allowed most licensed alcohol sales only until 3 a.m. (weekdays) or no Sunday sales before noon. Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4) created a special carve-out for "premises" as defined in § 57-4-102(27), letting those premises sell or serve alcohol until 5 a.m. The definition was narrowly written, with multiple conjunctive conditions:

1. The establishment must be licensed under the alcohol-licensing chapter.
2. It must be located in a historical district designated as a national historic landmark.
3. The historical district must center on a public street.
4. The street must be regularly closed to motor vehicular traffic.

Only one such district existed in Tennessee that fit: the Beale Street Historic District. The National Park Service had designated Beale Street, from Main Street to Fourth Street in Memphis, as a national historic landmark. Beale Street is regularly closed to traffic for entertainment events. Shelby County's 1980 population (777,113) exceeded the 400,000 threshold the statute used, and Shelby County did not have a metropolitan form of government (the statute exempted metropolitan governments). So Beale Street businesses qualified.

The statute also extended the definition of "premises" for purposes of the 5 a.m. window to any establishment "within four (4) blocks west of the western boundary of the historic district and on the same public street or right of way as the historic district." That added a few blocks of Beale Street west of Main Street, but only on Beale Street.

The AG read the "and on the same public street" language strictly. A bar on Second Street, Third Street, or another cross street north or south of Beale Street did not qualify, no matter how close to Beale Street. Tennessee courts give statutory words "their natural and ordinary meaning in the context in which they appear." Britt v. Dyer's Employment Agency, Inc., 396 S.W.3d 519, 523 (Tenn. 2013).

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Tennessee's alcoholic-beverage laws have been amended repeatedly. The population brackets in § 57-4-102(27) referenced the 1980 census, which is now decades old. Anyone evaluating a current sale-hours question should pull current statute text and the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission's current rules. Memphis-Shelby County also restructured government in ways that may affect the metropolitan-government exemption.

Background and statutory framework

The general rule for "premises" hours. Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4) prohibited sales between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. on weekdays and between 5 a.m. and noon on Sundays for licensees under § 57-4-102(27), which effectively let those licensees sell up to 5 a.m. (versus the 3 a.m. general rule for other on-premises consumption licensees).

The "premises" definition. Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27) defined "premises" as:
- Refers to an establishment licensed under the chapter;
- Located within a historical district designated as a national historic landmark;
- The landmark centers around a public street or right-of-way;
- The street is closed to motor vehicular traffic on a regular basis.

The provision applied only to counties with 1980 population over 400,000 and not to those with a metropolitan form of government.

The extension. The statute added: in such a county, "only for the purposes of the hours of sale provided in § 57-4-203(d)(4), 'premises' also includes any establishment located within four (4) blocks west of the western boundary of the historic district and on the same public street or right of way as the historic district." Closing the street to motor vehicular traffic was not required for this extension.

The Beale Street district. Designated by the National Park Service as Beale Street from Main to Fourth Streets. Beale runs east-west, with Fourth Street to the east and Main Street to the west.

Shelby County demographics. 1980 census population: 777,113. Did not have a metropolitan government, so the population trigger applied.

Statutory construction. Britt v. Dyer's Employment Agency, Inc., 396 S.W.3d 519, 523 (Tenn. 2013), required courts to apply "the natural and ordinary meaning" of statutory words.

Common questions

Could a restaurant on Second Street near Beale qualify?

No. The four-block westward extension required the establishment to be on Beale Street itself. Second Street, although it crossed Beale, was not the same street as the historic district. The AG's reading was textual and strict.

What about a business with frontage on both Beale and a side street?

The opinion didn't address that exact configuration. A business actually located on Beale Street, with a primary entrance on Beale, and licensed for sale on those premises, would qualify regardless of having a secondary entrance on a cross street. A business primarily oriented to a cross street with only an alley access to Beale would be a closer call, and the licensing record would have controlled.

Why was Beale Street the only district that qualified?

The statute's definition required a national historic landmark designation centered on a public street that is regularly closed to traffic. In 2013, Beale Street was the only Tennessee street that fit. The narrow drafting was no accident: it was a Beale-Street-specific exception masquerading as a general definition.

What was the metropolitan-government exemption doing?

The General Assembly used a population bracket (over 400,000 by the 1980 census) to scope the exception, but excluded metropolitan governments. In 1980, the only Tennessee metropolitan-form county was Davidson (Nashville). The exemption kept Nashville out, even if Nashville had qualified under the population trigger.

Could Memphis or Shelby County enact a broader local rule for surrounding streets?

The state alcoholic-beverage code is statewide, and local governments cannot extend sale hours beyond what state law allows. The General Assembly would have to amend the statute. Several attempts to expand the district have been introduced over the years.

Citations

Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 57-4-102(27), 57-4-203(d)(4). Cases: Britt v. Dyer's Employment Agency, Inc., 396 S.W.3d 519 (Tenn. 2013). National Park Service, National Historic Landmarks Program.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2013/op13-073.pdf

Original opinion text

September 19, 2013

Opinion No. 13-73

Hours for Sale of Alcoholic Beverages

QUESTION

Do businesses licensed to sell alcoholic beverages and fronting streets located to the north or south of Beale Street in Memphis qualify for extended hours for sale under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4)?

OPINION

No. To qualify for extended hours for the sale of alcoholic beverages under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4), a person must be licensed to sell alcoholic beverages on "premises," as defined under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27), located inside a national historic landmark or within four blocks west of the western boundary of a national historic landmark and on the same street as the national historic landmark. The Beale Street Historic District consists of Beale Street from Main Street to Fourth Street. Licensed businesses fronting streets located to the north or south of Beale Street do not fall within the provisions of Tenn. Code. Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4) and thus do not qualify for extended hours for the sale of alcoholic beverages.

ANALYSIS

Tennessee laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages provide for extended hours of sale in a defined area within the City of Memphis related to the Beale Street Historic District. The extended hours for the sale of alcoholic beverages in this area are governed by Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d), which states in relevant part:

[L]icensees under § 57-4-102(27) may not sell or give away alcoholic beverages and/or malt beverages and/or wine between the hours of five o'clock a.m. (5:00 a.m.) and eight o'clock a.m. (8:00 a.m.) on weekdays or between the hours of five o'clock a.m. (5:00 a.m.) and twelve o'clock (12:00) noon on Sundays.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-203(d)(4). Under this provision, any person to whom a license has been issued to sell alcoholic beverages on premises as defined under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27) are explicitly allowed to do so until 5:00 a.m.

The "premises" eligible for the extended hours of sale are defined as:

(27) "Premises," when:

(A) Referring to an establishment licensed under this chapter;

(B) Such establishment is located within an historical district which has been designated as a national historic landmark;

(C) Such a national historic landmark centers around a public street or right-of-way; and

(D) Such a public street or right-of-way is closed to motor vehicular traffic on a regular basis;

includes the area encompassed by the boundaries of the historic district; provided, that the granting of a license for a business location within such historical district shall not preclude the granting of another license to another establishment located within the boundaries of the historic district. The provisions of this subdivision (27) shall apply only to counties with a population of more than four hundred thousand (400,000) according to the 1980 census, but those counties having a metropolitan form of government shall be exempt from the provisions of this subdivision (27). In such county, only for the purposes of the hours of sale provided in § 57-4-203(d)(4), "premises" also includes any establishment located within four (4) blocks west of the western boundary of the historic district and on the same public street or right of way as the historic district; provided, that the requirement of closing the street or right-of-way to motor vehicular traffic on a regular basis shall not apply to the extension of the premises established by this sentence.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27).

Beale Street is located in Shelby County, a county having a population of more than 400,000 according to the 1980 census. Tenn. Code Ann., Tables Volume at 1341 (listing population of Shelby County as 777,113). The National Park Service has designated the Beale Street Historic District as a national historic landmark and defined the Beale Street Historic District as Beale Street, from Main to Fourth Streets, in Memphis, Tennessee. See National Park Service website, National Historic Landmarks Programs, available at http://tps.cr.nps.gov/NHL. See also National Historic Landmarks by State, available at http://www.nps.gov/NHL. Beale Street runs approximately east and west. Fourth and Main Streets intersect Beale Street to the east and west, respectively. See Figure 1 below.

When construing statutes, Tennessee courts will determine the General Assembly's intent by looking to the text of the statute and giving "the words their natural and ordinary meaning in the context in which they appear and in light of the statute's general purpose." Britt v. Dyer's Employment Agency, Inc., 396 S.W.3d 519, 523 (Tenn. 2013). Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27), a licensed establishment must be located within a historical district designated as a national historic landmark, or within four blocks west of the western boundary and on the same street as the national historic landmark, to sell or give away alcoholic beverages and/or malt beverages and/or wine until 5:00 a.m. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 57-4-102(27), 57-4-203(d)(4). The plain language of the statute thus permits extended hours only for licensed establishments along Beale Street between Fourth and Main Streets, when the street is closed to vehicular traffic, and within the four blocks west "of the western boundary of the historic district and on the same public street or right of way as the historic district." Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-4-102(27). Businesses on streets outside of those areas do not qualify for the extended hours of sale set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. 57-4-203(d)(4), including businesses fronting streets to the north or south of Beale Street.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

WILLIAM E. YOUNG
Solicitor General

ANDREW COULAM
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:

The Honorable Antonio Parkinson
State Representative
301 6th Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee 37243