LaFollette moving closer to issuing liquor store licenses

Decision expected by mid- summer

By SUSAN SHARP

LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF)- The City of LaFollette continues to fine tune its liquor ordinance.

In a Monday morning special called meeting, language in the ordinance was amended. Previous wording said the stores could not be located within 300 feet of a church, school, park, playground or a public meeting place.

The ‘public meeting place’ criteria was too broad, according to LaFollette City Administrator Stan Foust. That portion of the ordinance was removed.

The council also clarified the 300 feet parameter would be in a circumference of the store not a straight line of travel.

Given the change in the wording, applicants have been provided an additional five days to review their applications and make any needed changes.

Fifteen applications were filed with the city in hopes of obtaining one of the two licenses.

Those who applied along with their proposed site and name of the store are:

Phillips Boshears and Cameron McGhee- 511 W. Central Ave. (the old Lyons Building)- Lyons Liquor Locker

Nazneen Dhanani- 1419 Jacksboro Pike-(formerly Stockyard BBQ)- A’s Liquor and Wine

Fonda Gross- 1419 Jacksboro Pike- (formerly Stockyard BBQ)- Last Stop

Hussain Jamani- 1707 E Central Ave. – (Food Lion Grocery Store Complex)- LaFollette Package

Shamshuddin Jamani- 211 W. Central Ave.-(former Liberty Tax Services)- East End Package Store

Jasmin Patel- 700 W. Central Ave. (former Martin Wilson Funeral Home)- Sunset Liquor

Maulik Patel- 1221 Jacksboro Pike- (former IGA store)- no name provided

Mitulkumar Patel- 207 W. Central Ave.- (former City Glass)- no name provided

Nileshkuma Patel- 604 W. Central Ave.- (currently Corner Market)- Corner Wine and Spirits

Pankaj Kumar N Patel- (no number provided) Jacksboro Pike – LaFollette Liquor

Pankaj Kumar N Patel- 1200 Jacksboro Pike- (currently Campbell Tobacco and Beer)- Campbell Tobacco and Beer

Tikendra Patel- 1702 E Central Ave. -(white building across from Food Lion)- no name provided

Yogeshbhai Patel- 108 S. Indiana Ave. (former Thompson’s Furniture)- no name provided

John and Raewyn Snodderly- 2221 Jacksboro Pike Suite A-19- (Woodson’s Mall)- Norris Lake Spirits, LLC.

Kairav Vyas- 1913 Old Jacksboro Hwy. (directly across from Tim Short Ford)- Campbell Liquor, LLC.

In order to obtain a license, the store and proposed owners must be meet the following guidelines:

Applicants must have a clean criminal record.

A retailer can only hold one license.

The store must not be within 300 feet of a church, public school, public park or playground.

The store must be on  the ground floor of a building, be a permanent structure, have a minimum square footage of retail space of 1500 sq feet.

The building must also have a “full, free and unobstructed vision” to and from the street with “large windows” in the front of the established and on the sides as to the extent it is practical.

The City of LaFollette will only issue two retail liquor licenses.

LaFollette will allow one store on the east end of the city and one on the west end of the city.  The dividing line is 13th St.

Each application will be vetted by the LaFollette Police Department.

The non-refundable application fee was $1,500.

The council hopes to have a decision on who is getting the licenses by the middle of June, Foust said.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 5/14/2025-6AM)