An Indian street food cafe that had gotten into hot water for selling food and drinks past 11pm unlawfully has been granted permission for extended hours.
Chaiiwala in Wokingham Road, East Reading had gotten into trouble after staff were seen wrongly conducting sales past 11pm, which can result in an unlimited fine, up to six months in prison, or both.
The staff were caught by Reading Borough Council licensing officers during inspections in September and October.
Following these inspections, UTAD Limited the franchisee that operates the cafe submitted a licensing application to stay open until 1am each night.
The extended hours bid was discussed at a licensing applications sub-committee meeting.
Representing the company, licensing consultant Bill Donne argued the company had a record of operating without issue.
He said: “The business has been trading for many years, and to this date, they have had no complaints.
“The area, has a different vibe to the town centre it is a busy area, rather than creating something new, it’ll divvy up the market.
“I don’t see an increase in traffic caused by this.”
Mr Donne pointed out Wokingham Road has several businesses trading late, including Milanoz Pizza until 5am, Chicken Base until 4am and 5am, and The Palemr Tavern, which closes at 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
By contrast, the council’s licensing team argued the business was not being operated responsibly.
During the October visit, staff were under the misunderstanding that they had a temporary event notice (TEN) to stay open past 11pm.
However, when officers checked later, no TEN was in place.
Councillor Paul Woodward (Labour, Church) said: “I’m looking for reassurance, I note those inspections don’t look good, you have staff there who don’t know basic stuff, it’s not rocket science, it’s pretty straightforward.”
Mr Donne replied that UTAD will engage in staff training to avoid rule branches in the future.
Licensing officer Robert Smalley argued the failed inspections serious enough to warrant refusal, casting doubt on whether staff could fulfil the four licensing objectives to prevent crime and disorder, promote public safety, prevent public nuisance and protect of children from harm.
He said: “It’s the officer recommendation the application be refused, on reflection on the premises’ behaviour and continued behaviour, and coming up with an excuse for a TEN, we’re not confident they can fulfil the licensing objectives.”
At the start of the meeting, it was acknowledged that the licensing application never appeared on a dedicated council web page, but the decision was taken to proceed with the hearing rather than delay it.
Councillors Woodward, Deborah Edwards (Labour, Southcote) and David Stevens (Labour, Abbey) decided to grant the application with conditions at the meeting on Thursday, February 7.
However, UTAD requires planning approval to open past 11pm, and will only be able to extend hours to 1am each night once that permission is granted.
