The owner of a Cambridge restaurant has been given a month to make significant changes to its ownership structure before Waipā District Council Licensing Committee will consider renewing its on-licence.
Jaspal Grewal, co-owner of Koi Spice, Craft and Whiskey Lounge, applied for a renewal and variation of the on-licence for the Cambridge premises. Grewal and his wife operate the business under India Today 2018 Ltd through a current licence.
However, concerns were raised after Grewal’s application to renew his manager’s certificate in Taranaki was declined last month by the New Plymouth Licensing Committee.
Waipā licensing inspector Maddison Berry opposed the Koi application based on the grounds of Grewal’s suitability. However, police and the Medical Officer of Health did not oppose the Cambridge on-licence application.
At the hearing in Cambridge last week – heard before independent commissioners Tegan McIntyre, Ross Murphy and Roy Johnson – Grewal said he had run restaurants in New Zealand for 25 years.
He no longer owns the New Plymouth Koi restaurant but retains shares in Cambridge – which was founded six years ago – and Masterton.
After a five hour hearing, McIntyre said the committee had wanted to hear more about staffing, duty managers, systems, training, days and hours of the business and Grewal’s suitability.
“What we heard hasn’t convinced us completely,” she said.
“We feel with a bit of remediation you could get over the line.”
While there had been no alcohol-related harm issues at the restaurant, there were not enough certified duty managers for the proposed trading hours, a lack of evidence linking a nominated duty manager to the premises and a failure to disclose required information.
Given the New Plymouth committee’s decision, McIntyre suggested Grewal may wish to consider stepping down as a director of India Today 2018 Ltd.
The committee advised Grewal to consult with legal professionals.
Koi Spice, Craft and Whiskey Lounge
