Reasons for Decision Premises: Diggers Den Restaurant Licensee: Mr Arminio Niceforo Nominee: (Not applicable) Proceeding: Application to vary licence conditions; Application for approval of material alterations Heard Before: Mr Peter Allen (Chairman) Mr John Withnall Mr Paul Costigan Dates of Hearing: 17-18 June 2003 Date of Decision: 29 July 2003 Appearances: Ms D Elliott, for the Licensee Mr Mark Gage, objector in person The liquor licence for the Diggers Den Restaurant, previously the Olympia Cafe, prescribes trading conditions in accordance with its description as a restaurant licence with “liquor without a meal”. a conditions require the premises at all times to maintain the The “liquor without meal” appearance of, and to trade predominantly as, a restaurant. Patrons are to be seated at a table. Problems of adherence to these conditions arose several years ago for licensee Mr Arminio Niceforo in the then perceptions of licensing inspectors and the Director of Licensing, and in early 2001 Mr Niceforo sought to vary the conditions of the licence by the removal of the requirements to have patrons seated at table and to look like a restaurant, although he undertook to continue to trade predominantly as a restaurant. That application to the Commission failed for reasons that are set out in the relevant Reasons for Decision (Olympia Cafe, 28.02.2001), which also sets out Mr Niceforo’s history with the premises in some detail. That decision of the Commission concluded with guidelines for the proper operation of the a system. “liquor without meal” In August 2002 the Commission heard a complaint by two liquor inspectors that their observations on the night of 2nd June 2002 had revealed the premises to be in breach of the requirement that prevented patrons from being permitted to stand around while drinking. As an outcome of that hearing (see the Reasons for Decision, Diggers Den Commission’s the Commission determined to issue Mr Niceforo with a notice Restaurant, 29.11.2002) under s.33 of the removing the a concession from the Liquor Act “liquor without meal” licence. The Commission opted to implement the s.33 process rather than to effect the change immediately by the use of s.49(4)(a) because the major disaffection Commission’s with the appearance of the premises as a restaurant - the pool table - had not been a ground of the inspectors’ complaints.
Reasons for Decision Premises: Diggers Den Restaurant Licensee: Mr Arminio Niceforo Nominee: (Not applicable) Proceeding: Application to vary licence conditions; Application for approval of material alterations Heard Before: Mr Peter Allen (Chairman) Mr John Withnall Mr Paul Costigan Dates of Hearing: 17-18 June 2003 Date of Decision: 29 July 2003 Appearances: Ms D Elliott, for the Licensee Mr Mark Gage, objector in person The liquor licence for the Diggers Den Restaurant, previously the Olympia Cafe, prescribes trading conditions in accordance with its description as a restaurant licence with “liquor without a meal”. The “liquor without a meal” conditions require the premises at all times to maintain the appearance of, and to trade predominantly as, a restaurant. Patrons are to be seated at a table. Problems of adherence to these conditions arose several years ago for licensee Mr Arminio Niceforo in the then perceptions of licensing inspectors and the Director of Licensing, and in early 2001 Mr Niceforo sought to vary the conditions of the licence by the removal of the requirements to have patrons seated at table and to look like a restaurant, although he undertook to continue to trade predominantly as a restaurant. That application to the Commission failed for reasons that are set out in the relevant Reasons for Decision (Olympia Cafe, 28.02.2001), which also sets out Mr Niceforo’s history with the premises in some detail. That decision of the Commission concluded with guidelines for the proper operation of the “liquor without a meal” system. In August 2002 the Commission heard a complaint by two liquor inspectors that their observations on the night of 2nd June 2002 had revealed the premises to be in breach of the requirement that prevented patrons from being permitted to stand around while drinking. As an outcome of that hearing (see the Commission’s Reasons for Decision, Diggers Den Restaurant, 29.11.2002) the Commission determined to issue Mr Niceforo with a notice under s.33 of the Liquor Act removing the “liquor without a meal” concession from the licence. The Commission opted to implement the s.33 process rather than to effect the change immediately by the use of s.49(4)(a) because the Commission’s major disaffection with the appearance of the premises as a restaurant - the pool table - had not been a ground of the inspectors’ complaints.
030729_Diggers_Den_Restaurant_32A_119.docx