The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission unanimously denied an application Thursday, Oct. 23, for a new high-end, East Memphis liquor store that has been the subject of a contentious battle. 

Meeting in Nashville Thursday afternoon, the three-member beverage board vetoed the application for The Station, which opened in the former Bed Bath and Beyond space at 870 S. White Station Road. The new business does not have a certificate of compliance from the City of Memphis, which is just one point of contention in the case.

“I think it’s really problematic,” Commission Chairwoman Ashleigh Roberts said to The Station owner Ethan Edwards and his attorneys. “You could’ve gotten your approval, and we wouldn’t be doing this today.”

The fight over new East Memphis liquor store explodes into fireball

After the vote, Edwards said in a statement that he was reviewing his options.

“Of course, we’re disappointed with today’s outcome. ... The Station has fully complied with state and local regulations,” Edwards wrote, “and this decision is a setback not only for our team, but for the greater Memphis community, which can only benefit from local investment and job creation.”

The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission veto was the latest step in an increasingly hostile battle between Edwards, who opened his shop in August to sell nonalcoholic items, and Buster’s Liquors co-owner Josh Hammond, who opened a second location of his family’s 71-year-old enterprise last year. The new Buster’s is less than 2 miles from The Station. 

This drama began last year as Edwards made plans to open The Station in the 25,000-square-foot space across White Station Road from the Eastgate Shopping Center. In addition to selling wine and liquor, the store would also offer amenities such as beer and wine tasting events, classes, grilling equipment, charcuterie and more.

In September 2024, the Memphis Alcohol Commission granted Edwards a license and signed off on the store meeting a city requirement that it be at least 1,500 feet away from a school or church. Shortly afterward, Edwards received a certificate of compliance signed by Memphis Mayor Paul Young and entered into a 10-year lease on the building.

Collierville to consider 2 more liquor stores, reaching limit

But trouble arose a few months later, when Hammond and the owners of three other liquor stores, all within one mile of The Station, filed a lawsuit in Chancery Court to prevent The Station from opening. Those stores are Liquor and Wine Depot at 756 Mt. Moriah Road; The Spirits Shoppe at 4848 Poplar Ave.; and D’s Spirits and Wine, 5475 Poplar Ave.

The lawsuit claimed that the proposed store didn’t actually meet the 1,500-foot distance requirement from Woodland Presbyterian School at 5217 Park Ave. It also argued that the alcohol commission meeting where The Station was approved was invalid because it violated the state’s open meetings laws.

Although Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins did not rule on whether the distance requirement was met, he did agree that the Memphis Alcohol Commission meeting violated the state’s open-meetings law, primarily because the public wasn’t properly informed about the meeting. Such a violation rendered the meeting invalid, including any decisions made during the meeting.

That’s where the next wrinkle comes into play. Hammond and his attorneys argue that since the meeting never officially happened, Edwards does not have a valid certificate of compliance.

Edwards and his attorneys, however, argue that under state law, the Memphis Alcohol Commission must rule on such an application within 60 days of receiving it. Since the meeting was invalidated, the commission did not technically rule within that time frame, they say, and state law means their application was automatically approved.

After 40 years, beer rules are changing in Collierville

However, the state board clearly viewed that certificate as necessary before granting its approval Thursday, although it shied away from making any rulings on the 60-day argument.

Before the vote, Roberts, the state commission chair, suggested that the body could also grant conditional approval based on Edwards getting the certificate, but it chose to deny the application outright.

“I believe that we are being played and I’m going to make a motion that this be rejected because clearly there is no (certificate) attached,” said Tim Wirgau, the West Tennessee representative on the state board.

The board members also questioned why Edwards and his team did not try to get approval from the Memphis Alcohol Commission during its Oct. 15 meeting before appearing before the state commission.

Edwards and his team sent a letter to the local alcohol commission, stating that they did not want to be included on the Oct. 15 agenda and argued that the state board now had jurisdiction over the case, according to their interpretation of that 60-day rule.

“At this point, every box has been checked for (Edwards) to have this application approved,” Clarence Wilbon, the Memphis attorney representing Edwards, said Thursday. “It’s been delay after delay because of competitors who don’t want competition.”

After almost a year of declining sales, The Liquor Store on Broad is closing

Speaking against the application, attorney Curtis Harrington accused Edwards of seeking to use political influence in the case while also running a “smear campaign” against Hammond.

“We oppose this application,” Harrington said. “The last thing they want is a full hearing of all the facts.”

In a statement after the meeting, Hammond called the ruling just.

“The short story is this: Their location is not compliant and they know it,” he wrote. “So, honestly, I’ll be shocked if they reapply.”