Deputies aim to revoke Augusta business’ liquor license
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - The Richmond County Sheriff’s office wants a restaurant’s alcohol license to be revoked amid claims that it’s operating more like a club.
This has to do with Tiffany’s Eatery on Broad Street, a restaurant that says it serves food and alcohol.
However, the sheriff’s office says that since Tiffany’s decided to extend its hours past 2:30 a.m., it’s become an issue for fights.
Among the claims made to commissioners by the sheriff’s office on Tuesday, Tiffany’s has served alcohol after 2:30 a.m., supplied hookahs to customers, has operated a dance floor without the proper license and has charged a cover fee to get inside, which restaurants are not allowed to do.
Tiffany’s opened five years ago, but says they didn’t start with late-night sales until February.
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In a letter handed to commissioners, the sheriff’s office lays out numerous issues that date back to February.
Body camera video was shown to commissioners as the sheriff’s office says they wanted people to see that Tiffany’s is not operating as a restaurant.
While watching the video, the sheriff’s office calls Tiffany’s a “unlicensed nightclub.”
“As you can see, there’s about a hundred people waiting to get inside, outside after everything else is closed downtown, and on the inside it is set up clearly as a nightclub, not as a restaurant,” said Lewis Blanchard, Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. “Here were two people who had food, but that’s not what we would consider a restaurant.”
Responding to the video shown, Alpha Louis, a business agent with Tiffany’s, says this is “trial and error” as they just started late-night sales
Louis says the problems are caused by people coming from different bars downtown.
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“They are fighting because they are already drunk coming from other places,” said Louis. “When they search them, they’re searching for sharp objects, the security is searching for knives, guns, so they might have cigarettes found in their pocket when they get in there, they’re going to the bathroom, but we have security in there stopping all that. They see them smoking, they kick them out.”
Tiffany’s agreed to close for the next two weeks at normal business hours until commissioners discuss their future at the committee level.
Also at Tuesday’s commission meeting, commissioners:
- Got the ball rolling on improvements to May Park. It’s been two years since $2.2 million in grant money was obtained for the improvements. Commissioners approved a contract for the design of May Park and Boykin Road Park, which got $1.7 million. These improvements are long-awaited for neighbors. We do know the revitalization will focus on the baseball and softball fields, football track, tennis court and possibly even a connector trail between May Park and Magnolia Cemetery.
- Agreed to convert five vacant assistant public defender positions from state employees to Augusta employees and transfer the associated funds from the public defender’s office operating budget to personnel. This is meant to save money that can then be used to increase pay for starting positions, which should help with recruiting.
- Approved a motion to award a bid of $60,578 plus a contingency of $25,000 for investigation of a leak in the municipal building. Midwest Maintenance will look into the leak that comes from an unknown source.
- Approved allocating $250,000 from the general fund contingency and $100,000 from the urban services fund for continued mowing services in highly visible medians.
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