A cafe in Manchester was stripped of its license after its owner let large groups of people inside during the lockdown.
Lucjan Domanski showed an “obvious disregard” for public health during the lockdown at the Kate and Luc Cafe Restaurant.
A three-month closure order was issued against the Burnage Café because it did not comply with Covid’s security rules and was open as usual when it should only have been taken away.
Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council license officers visited the premises five times in January and February after receiving reports that they had been “rammed” with people.
The licensee, Mr. Domanski, refused to accept that he was breaking the rules.
Mr Domanski told a Manchester City Council’s license review hearing on Monday that he had suffered a mental breakdown while struggling to apply for financial assistance for his business during the pandemic.
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However, the council’s licensing subcommittee described his behavior as “appalling” and decided to revoke Kate and Luc’s license.
The meeting was shown for the first time with Bodycam footage of a visit by GMP and Manchester Council officials on February 2nd to the cafe, which was attended by a small number of customers.
GMP and Manchester Council officials visited us again on February 5th when the cafe was filled with even more customers, some of whom challenged officials when asked to disperse.
A last visit to Kate and Luc took place on February 7th. GMP estimated that between 60 and 70 people ate and drank in the café.
Mr. Domanski continued to serve while clients began filming the incident, as demonstrated by bodycam footage.
PC Alan Isherwood of the GMP licensing team said at the hearing that it was “clear that Mr. Domanski is unable to hold the license”.
A representative for Mr Domanski said he had been diagnosed with a mental disorder and that the enforcement visits had disturbed him, “hampered his actions” and sparked a “fight or flight” response.
At the meeting, it was discovered that there was an ongoing dispute between the licensee and Manchester City Council over support for business tariffs, which was affecting the business. Mr. Domanski would like to set up support groups on mental health issues.
Mr. Domanski said: “We tried very hard with all the restrictions and lost 85 to 90 percent of our income. We just couldn’t and I gave up. I didn’t have a choice, that was my feeling.
“I’ve had a problem with depression for nine to ten years. I turned medication on and off. It’s too much stress for me. “
The pictures taken on site today also show police officers in the Kate & Luc Café Restaurant
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Mr Domanski admitted that he had violated Covid regulations but did so under duress and asked the committee to give him the opportunity to open in a Covid-safe manner.
However, the hearing panel agreed to revoke the license, which means the company no longer has a trading permit.
In a statement, the committee said: “The reasons for the revocation are the obvious disregard of the Covid regulations by the owner of the company premises.
“The committee is absolutely appalled by the way the operating license holder rha has treated the officials, and they have no confidence that the licensing objectives will be met due to the actions taken by the holder of the premise silence during this pandemic.”
“GMP and the Manchester Council officials took a measured approach to working with this operating license holder, but apparently they did not cooperate at all.”
Mr. Domanski also pleaded not guilty to assaulting a GMP officer during a February 7 enforcement visit.
A video of the altercation between Mr Domanski and the officer was broadcast widely on social media and prompted the force to forward the incident to their professional standards department.
