A RESTAURANT in east Reading will again be allowed to serve alcohol with meals after its licence was reinstated – with conditions.
The Gulab Indian Kitchen on Wokingham Road was launched as Miah’s Garden of Gulab in 1980.
In 2018, immigration police discovered three three illegal immigrants who had overstayed their visas and two immigrants who had illegally entered the country.
The restaurant’s owner Jamshed Miah was served a £40,000 civil penalty for hiring illegal workers. An appeal was dismissed in June 2019.
Reading Borough Council reviewed his licence, and the sale of alcohol was banned. Customers were allowed to bring their own drinks instead.
His son Mouadjul Miah took over running the restaurant, rebranding it as Gulab Indian Kitchen.
He reapplied for a new licence to enable the refashioned business to again offer alcohol to customers.
At a hearing, he told councillors: “I’m here to work with the council and licensing officers. Me and my team want to move the business forward.
“There is a lot of heritage, the business has been operated since 1980. I’d like to continue that heritage in the right way, and make a success of myself.”
Cllr Paul Woodward (Labour, Church) said: “The news [illegal immigrant discovery] came as quite a shock. Back in the day if we wanted to have curry, we had a decision, do we go to Miahs or Sardar?
“We need you to convince us that nothing like this will ever happen again, even tickling at the corners of your mind.”
Cllr Woodward was referring to Sardar Palace at Cemetery Junction, which has since been converted into flats.
As well as the five workers at Miah’s Garden of Gulab having no right to be in the UK, it was not clear if they were being paid the minimum wage.
Cllr Woodward said: “What happened before was more than a bit dodgy, it was exploitation, that’s how serious it was.”
Police licensing officer Gary Clarke argued Illegal working is not victimless, it undercuts honest employers, cheats legitimate job seekers out of employment opportunities and subverts tax income.
During the meeting, it was pointed out that Mr Miah Jr has senior positions in five existing businesses including GM Restaurants, which he applied for the licence under, Miahs Pangbourne, My IT Reading and Opulence Reading.
Explaining the multiple appointments, Mr Miah Jr said: “I do have a vision and drive, and I did have a vision and drive for a series of ventures.”
He added that his focus will be on Gulab Indian Kitchen, with his representative Oisin Daly of Ardens Law saying that he will assist with staff training.
Ultimately, the licensing applications committee decided to grant the application, meaning that alcohol sales and recorded music can be played at the restaurant from 11am to 11pm each day.
The decision was made by cllrs Woodward, Deborah Edwards (Labour, Southcote) and Louise Keane (Green, Katesgrove) on March 5.
A condition states that Mr Miah Sr will have no involvement in the business, other than collecting rent for the property.
Celebrating the decision, Mr Daly said: “We’re very happy with the decision of the committee, we thank them for their time to help to build the business in the future in Reading.”
