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Knox County Beer Board permanently revokes El Tequila beer permit after due process hearing

The bar had been under county scrutiny after a shooting in its parking lot.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County leaders permanently revoked the beer permit of El Tequila Bar and Grill on Tuesday, during a hearing following a scheduled hearing. County leaders had previously decided to suspend the bar's permit in June.

The bar had been under county scrutiny since a shooting in its parking lot in May. Over the course of several commission meetings and hearings, Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies told leaders the bar had a history of problems in the Halls Center.

Records from the Knox County Emergency Communications District E-911 showed first responders received more than 50 calls for service involving the business from April 2022 to May 2023, and 16 of those calls happened in 2023.  Five of the calls appeared to be related to the shooting.

In a Knox County Beer Board meeting in December 2022, KCSO lieutenant Tom Walker also talked about the problems at El Tequila. He said in a four-month span, from July 1, 2022, to Nov. 10, 2022, El Tequila had 31 calls for service. Most of those calls were for fights, medical issues or thefts, according to Walker.

The bar's license had previously been suspended in June until the Aug. 22 meeting, when commission leaders met for a due process hearing. At the June meeting, John Schoonmaker, a member of the board, said the Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission had previously fined the business around $1,500. 

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