The after-hours downtown venue that gave rise to a weekend fight and arrests caught on viral video came under scrutiny at Tuesday’s meeting of the Augusta Commission.
Richmond County Chief of Staff Lewis Blanchard told the commission the sheriff’s office has been eyeing Tiffany’s Eatery at 828 Broad St. for some time.
The venue was already on probation for failing to serve enough food to keep a restaurant license and since February, has repeatedly violated multiple ordinances, Blanchard said.
The violations include serving alcohol after hours, staying open after hours, letting patrons smoke, smoke marijuana and use hookahs despite multiple warnings, using a DJ and creating a dance floor without a dance hall license, charging a cover charge and having a lack of crowd control, leading to fights, he said.
Deputies handling problems at the venue have been injured on two occasions, including the weekend fight, he said.
Blanchard showed his body cam video from March 30. While about 100 people waited outside, as he walked through the venue there were no tables and no one was eating.
The sheriff’s office wants the commission to revoke Tiffany’s restaurant license and give serious consideration to revoking its alcohol license, he said.
Sheriff’s Inv. Jose Ortiz described the repeated warnings and orders to close due to violations he’d taken over the last few months.
The actual owners live in Florida, leaving the venue’s agent, Alpha Louis, in charge, Ortiz said.
Early Sunday morning, when the video was taken, Tiffany’s had closed due to fighting, but the fight continued outside, he said. The fight took place approximately four vacant storefronts away in the 800 block of Broad.
Louis, who had signed up to address the commission Tuesday to complain about the sheriff’s office, told commissioners his troubles began when he began staying open later as a restaurant.
“Our restaurant is to blame for everything that goes on,” he said. “We’re the only one open after that time.”
Planning and Development Director Carla Delaney said the department had recommended against giving Tiffany’s a Sunday sales license in November, but the commission overruled the recommendation.
The sheriff’s office had already initiated a discussion of revoking the venue’s license, and it’s planned for an April 29 committee meeting, she said.
The commission passed a motion, with Louis in agreement, that Tiffany’s close by 2:30 a.m. and at 2 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, when other venues must close, ahead of the committee meeting.
What is grant management?
In another matter, commissioners attempted to get clarity on a motion for Housing and Community Development to continue a “grant management” agreement with CPA firm Cherry Bekaert.
The commission recently approved refunding $6.5 million to the U.S. Treasury in emergency rental assistance grant funds unspent by the department.
Questioned by commissioners, Interim Finance Director Tim Schroer said the agreement was to allow Cherry Bekaert “to assist in preparation for our annual audit.”
Commissioner Jordan Johnson asked Schroer to explain how the audit preparation was “grant management.”
“I’m not sure what Director (Hawthorne) Welcher meant by grant management,” Schroer said.
Interim Housing and Community Development Director Shautia Lewis – Welcher was placed on leave with pay April 2 – said the motion was to “continue our usual process with Cherry Bekaert in a consultant capacity for the grants that we currently have.”
Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle asked Schroer if “Cherry Bekaert is the one that keeps us within our guidelines so we don’t get in trouble, is that correct?”
Schroer said “that is what they are trying to do for our audits, yes.”
Administrator Tameka Allen said Cherry Bekaert helped the department prepare for the city’s annual audit, not other audits involving the department.
The commission voted to amend the motion to say “audit preparation assistance” instead of “grant management assistance.”
The motion passed 6-1 with Guilfoyle voting no. Commissioners Stacy Pulliam, Alvin Mason, Don Clark and Brandon Garrett were absent Tuesday.
