Cox Store Management, Inc. v. City of Tucker

── Cox Store Management, Inc. v. City of Tucker ── Court: Court of Appeals of Georgia Date: April 24, 2026 Category: General FIRST DIVISION BARNES, P. J., MARKLE and HODGES, JJ. NOTICE: Motions for reconsideration must be physically received in our clerk’s office within ten days of the date of decision to be deemed timely filed. https://www.gaappeals.us/rules April 24, 2026 In the Court of Appeals of Georgia A26A0652. COX STORE MANAGEMENT, INC. v. CITY OF TUCKER. BARNES, Presiding Judge. We granted this discretionary appeal to consider whether the trial court erred when it concluded that the coin-operated amusement machines (“COAMs”) owned by appellant Cox Store Management, Inc., d/b/a Idlewood Food Mart (“Cox”), violated a City of Tucker ordinance barring such machines within 100 yards of a church. On appeal, Cox argues that the trial court erred when it affirmed the City’s denial of a license because Cox’s long-permitted sale of beer and wine at the convenience store at issue means that its offering of COAMs there is not in violation of the law. We find no error and affirm.  The relevant facts are not in dispute, and we review the trial court’s interpretation of the relevant statutes “de novo, as statutory interpretation is a question of law.” Cardinale v. Keane, 362 Ga. App. 644, 646 (1) (869 SE2d 613) (2022) (quotation marks omitted). This appeal concerns the interpretation and application of OCGA § 50-27-86, which authorizes “the governing authority of any county or municipal corporation” to enact an ordinance related to the regulation of COAMs. Among other things, such an ordinance may provide “for restrictions relating to distance from specified structures or uses so long as those distance requirements are no more restrictive than such requirements applicable to the sale of alcoholic beverages[.]” OCGA § 50-27-86 (8) (emphasis supplied). The Code defines “alcoholic beverage” as including “all alcohol, distilled spirits, beer, malt beverage, wine, or fortified wine.” OCGA § 3-1-2 (2). With respect to the sale of alcoholic beverages, OCGA § 3-3-21 provides: (a)(1) No person knowingly and intentionally may sell or offer to sell: (A) Any distilled spirits in or within 100 yards of any church building or within 200 yards of any school building, educational building, school grounds, or college campus; (B) Any wine or malt beverages within 100 yards of any school building, school grounds, or college campus. . . . ; or (C) Any distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages within 100 yards of an alcoholic 2  treatment center owned and operated by this state or any county or municipal government therein. . . . (Emphasis supplied). The statute further provides that “[n]o person knowingly and intentionally may sell any alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises within 100 yards of any housing authority property.” OCGA § 3-3-21 (e) (2). Relying on the authority granted it by OCGA § 50-27-86 (8), the City enacted a COAM ordinance in 2022. That ordinance requires that any business offering COAMs for play must obtain a COAM license from the City. Code of Ordinances § 10-604. The ordinance further provides, in relevant part, that any business offering COAMs for play “shall comply with the proximity provision for businesses licensed to sell alcohol set out in OCGA § 3-3-21” and “section 4-1361 of the code of ordinances of the [C]ity.” Code of Ordinances § 10-607 (a), (b). In March 2024, the City sent a letter to all business owners who had registered for one or more COAMs with the Georgia Lottery Corporation, informing the businesses of the requirement that they be licensed by the City and asking them to apply for such a license. Cox, which has operated Idlewood for many