Monroe County business asks commissioners to scale back 2,000-foot beer-permit rule to sell alcohol-infused ice cream

Madisonville — Owners of a local, family-run ice-cream business asked the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on May 28 to consider changing a county rule that requires a 2,000-foot separation between beer-permit retailers and public gathering places, saying the rule prevents them from selling malt-based, alcohol-infused products at an existing county store.

Pete Slagle, who signed up to speak during the public-comment period, said his family’s Gabby’s-brand malt-based, alcohol-infused ice cream is manufactured and sold at other locations outside Monroe County and that the company wants to offer the same items at its Madisonville site on Highway 68. “I humbly ask that you consider, the request to change the 50 year old resolution,” Slagle said, arguing that the rule places county businesses at a competitive disadvantage with nearby city stores.

A company representative who identified herself as Hailey presented a 20-page packet of research and told commissioners she had consulted the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) and local beer boards. “Selling malt based alcohol infused ice cream is permitted here in Monroe County and the entire state of Tennessee with a valid beer permit,” she said, adding the state and local boards regulate the specifics. She told commissioners the product is treated as a malt-based beverage under state rules and that TABC had referred regulatory approval to local beer boards.

Speakers told commissioners that cities inside Monroe County use a range of separation distances — examples in the packet included 100, 250 and 500 feet — and urged the county to adopt a smaller, consistent standard. Slagle said their Madisonville site is about 1,100 feet from the nearest public gathering place by direct line and that the company is not asking for a specific distance but for the county to consider a smaller, more reasonable limit. “We are just wanting to obtain a beer permit, and we don't qualify for a beer permit because we are less than 2,000 feet from a public gathering place,” Hailey said.

Commissioners asked technical questions about the product and the legal distinctions between malt-based and spirit-based products; Hailey said the firm uses malt-based beverages and does not add grain alcohol. Commissioners also noted the county’s authority under Tennessee law to set a distance up to 2,000 feet, and several said changes to the rule would be within the board’s discretion. The record shows no formal motion or vote on changing the distance rule at this meeting; commissioners referred the information packet to staff and raised the possibility of a workshop or future agenda item to examine the matter further.

The exchange concluded with commissioners thanking the presenters and acknowledging the material they provided. No final decision was made; the issue remains under consideration pending further staff work or a formal agenda item from the board.