Waltham Forest (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A restaurant chain in Walthamstow faces accusations of breaching its licence by serving food late into the night, sparking outrage in Waltham Forest.
Cleveland Park Residents’ Association members claim that Popeyes, located on High Street in Walthamstow, has been serving patrons after hours.
In early August, the Waltham Forest Council authorized the eatery to serve patrons in-store until 11 p.m. Only on Fridays and Saturdays can delivery trucks pick up collections from a designated serving hatch till one in the morning.
A photograph of seated patrons dining in the restaurant was captured at 11:15 p.m. on Friday, September 26 and was viewed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Additionally, two residents’ association members who were able to buy food at 11:21 p.m. provided the LDRS with receipt confirmation.
The council should “impose a strict penalty on the company for the breaches and ensure they are enforced and respected by the restaurant,” according to a representative for the local organization, which “condemned Popeyes’ cynicism in breaching its licence.”
Popeyes was asked for his thoughts.
Last month, the association informed the town hall about the event. Despite speaking with the restaurant’s legal staff, the council claims that on an unexpected visit earlier this month, it found no proof of misconduct.
Cllr Khevyn Limbajee, the cabinet member for community safety, said:
“Under the terms of the Licensing Act 2003, our enforcement of potential licensing breaches follows a stepped approach. This begins with informal engagement with businesses before any escalation to formal action in cases of serious or repeated non-compliance.
In line with this approach, we have liaised with the licensee of Popeyes Walthamstow through their legal representative to remind them of their responsibilities.
During an unannounced follow-up visit on Friday, 17th October after 11pm, the restaurant was found to be closed with its doors locked. We will continue to monitor compliance with licence conditions for Popeyes and all licensed venues in Waltham Forest.”
Popeyes had originally applied to run deliveries until 4am but 52 residents objected.
Who managed the affected Walthamstow locations?
The affected Walthamstow position involved in the licence breach case was the Café Lounge in Leytonstone, managed at the time by Halit Matraxhi. Mr. Matraxhi was the licence holder but stated he was not responsible for the day- to- day operation, attributing the issue to the former director.
Despite this defense, the council held Mr. Matraxhi responsible as the licence holder during the hail that led to the cancellation of the café’s alcohol licence due to employment of illegal workers.
As a consequence, Waltham Forest Council abandoned the café’s alcohol licence after a licensing commission hail. The licence holder, Halit Matraxhi, argued he was not responsible for day to day operation and was ignorant of the illegal workers, suggesting the former director was at fault.