Residents back restaurant after Rita Ora birthday bash
By Julia Gregory, local democracy reporter
Residents appealed for a “much-valued” restaurant to keep its licence after the birthday party of Rita Ora was held there during lockdown .
The case was discussed at a council licensing hearing yesterday.
It emerged that a restaurant manager made “a spur of the moment decision” to allow the pop’s star’s 30th birthday party for 17 to come to the Casa Cruz restaurant in Ladbroke Grove last November .
It came after the then manager, Scottie Bhattarai, got a “panicked phone call” on November 28 from an associate of the star when paparazzi turned up outside the home “where the party was going to take place,” said Lawyer Gary Grant who is acting for the restaurant.
He said: “My client was not aware of the proposed event in advance, my client has not made any financial gain. No evidence any other staff involved.”
And he said no payment has been made for the event and the star “brought her own alcohol”.
Police asked Kensington and Chelsea Council to review the licence and consider revoking it after the private party.
Ms Ora has since said she made “an error of judgement”.
Mr Grant told the licensing committee: “The company unequivocally and unreservedly condemns the event and shares the concern, shock and disappointment.
“It was a terrible mistake.”
He explained the restaurant director Nicholas Fallows, acted “swiftly and decisively” when he learnt about the incident and removed Mr Bhattarai from his post and barred him from the restaurant.
He said the company has put in other steps to stop it happening again, including saving CCTV to a cloud-based system.
Police lawyer Charles Holland QC, said: “The incident on the night was one of the most egregious and certainly most notorious breaches of regulations during the national pandemic.
“This conspiracy started in concealment and ended in cover up. It’s hard to think of a more serious case.”
He said a deterrent would send a strong message to anyone thinking of flouting the covid lockdown rules.
“I regret to say public confidence will be gravely shaken unless a breach as notorious as this does not result in revocation.”
He said Mr Bhattarai later told police he was contacted by the star’s representative and offered £5,000 to open the restaurant for the private party.
“He said he agreed to that because he was greedy.”
Mr Holland said: “He said he was fully aware it breached Covid regulations. He said he was the only person facilitating it.”
The licensing hearing was told Mr Bhattarai “switched the CCTV off between 6 and 6.30pm at requests of Ms Ora’s security. “
When police turned up around 11.30pm they could not get into the building. They tried to phone but got no reply. They later found no CCTV was available for days before the incident either.
In his statement, PC James Larner said windows of the restaurant in Clarendon Road “were blacked out by black sheets which prevented my colleague and myself from getting a clear view into the venue.
“There were small gaps between the sheets which both my colleague and myself could look through. I saw two women sitting at a table and neither of these women were wearing masks over their faces.”
He said his colleague saw one man standing by the bar and three women sitting at a separate table and he saw five or six glasses placed on tables.
Forty-four residents wrote to support the restaurant and said it had been a boost to the area since it opened five years ago, helping to reduce crime and gang related incidents.
At yesterday’s hearing (Thursday January 28) near neighbour Marc Chatin urged the council to “take the case for what it is”.
He added: “The police recommend the nuclear bomb for the sake of publicity.”
He said the restaurant has improved safety in the area and helped to cut crime and footage from its cameras have helped detect crime.
“It’s a real miracle that this restaurant survived. Be careful what you wish for.”
He said the impact of Covid on safety and jobs means “you will see that the police will have to deal with far more serious issues”.
Former employee Dion Morina who is now a teaching assistant, said: “The area has never felt safer since the opening of Casa Cruz, with the addition of the doorman and security.”
Another resident wrote “a one-off lapse of judgement in exceptional times deserves a conversation rather than closure”.
Supporters also praised “conscientious staff” and said “the premises are not loud or disruptive to the area”.
Councillor Marwan Elnaghi, who also chairs the nearby residents’ association said: “I saw them as an additional value for safety in our area.
“I really feel comfortable when I go out in the evening – pre-Covid – when I see the restaurant open.
“We’ve never had any complaints.”
Police investigations into the incident are on-going.
The licensing committee will make its decision in the next few days.