We're just happy to be here.

Wine In Grocery Stores (WIGS) is happening.  The time is near - we are about two weeks away from the July 1 date that allows businesses with the appropriate license to sell wine in Tennessee retail food stores.

The Alcoholic Beverage Commission has been churning out conditional letters of approval and retail food store licenses.  Kudos to the new Executive Director, Clay Byrd!  For the full story in The Tennessean, click here.

Our Alcoholic Beverage  Law Group has been working round the clock as well. This team of attorneys, paralegals and assistants are the go-to source for liquor licensing in Tennessee.  Led by Will Cheek - attorney, self-proclaimed foodie, and author of the well-known blog, Last Call.

Bone McAllester Norton attorney Will Cheek sat down with WSMV-TV Friday, discussing the ramifications of House Bill 11, which could push up the date of wine in Tennessee grocery stores by a year. When voters passed the “WIGS” bill last November, many did not realize that wine would not be in stores until July 2016. State Rep. Bo Mitchell is leading the push to bump up the timetable.

However, doing so could cause some headaches, as Will explained. “There’s going to be an enormous amount of paperwork. . .The ABC [Alcoholic Beverage Commission] doesn’t have the computer systems in place, and they don’t have the personnel,” he said.

Will leads the firm’s Alcoholic Beverage Law team, which provides licensing and regulatory compliance advice to restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs, craft distilleries and breweries. He is nationally known as the go-to source for Tennessee liquor law and authors at LastCall.

Click here for the full story.

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 40 attorneys and offices in Nashville, Sumner and Williamson counties, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 18 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Bone McAllester Norton Alcoholic Beverage Law attorney Olatayo O. Atanda spoke with a reporter from The Daily Times in Maryville, Tenn. this week, explaining that the new Wine in Grocery Stores law excludes most convenience stores. In order to qualify, participating businesses must have 1,200 square feet of retail space, and 20 percent of its taxable sales must be from the sale of food that qualifies for the state’s 5 percent sales tax.

“They are simply not big enough, and they don’t sell food items that are taxed at the rate that is discussed in the statute. They sell cigarettes and chips and Coke. Things like that don’t count. They don’t sell meat and vegetables and things of that nature,” he said.

To read the full article, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

Bone McAllester Norton PLLC is a full-service law firm with 39 attorneys and offices in Nashville and Sumner County, Tennessee. Our attorneys focus on 17 distinct practice areas, providing the wide range of legal services ordinarily required by established and growing businesses and entrepreneurs. Among our practices, we represent clients in business and capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, securities matters, commercial lending and creditors’ rights, commercial real estate and development, governmental regulatory matters, commercial litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property strategy and enforcement, entertainment and environmental matters. Our client base reflects the firm’s deep understanding and coverage of today’s leading industry and business segments. For more information, visit www.bonelaw.com.

Posted in Memphis Business Journal, December 21, 2012

The battle to bring wine sales into grocery stores is set to begin again in Tennessee, although proponents are taking a different tactic. Our own Will Cheek weighed in on this topic. Click here to read more about this.

 

Posted in Memphis Business Journal, December 21, 2012

The battle to bring wine sales into grocery stores is set to begin again in Tennessee, although proponents are taking a different tactic. Our own Will Cheek weighed in on this topic. Click here to read more about this.

 

Bone McAllester Norton attorney Will Cheek spoke with the Nashville Business Journal in a December 13 article about the fate of wine in grocery stores in Tennessee. Although the idea has strong support, Will said, “There are lots of reasons why the will of the people may be doomed—again.”

Read more from Will and this topic here.

You can read more from Cheek, who has represented some of the state's top liquor distributors and other interests, here.

 

Bone McAllester Norton attorney Will Cheek spoke with the Nashville Business Journal in a December 13 article about the fate of wine in grocery stores in Tennessee. Although the idea has strong support, Will said, “There are lots of reasons why the will of the people may be doomed—again.”

Read more from Will and this topic here.

You can read more from Cheek, who has represented some of the state's top liquor distributors and other interests, here.