News Walthamstow

Walthamstow corner shop fails to get alcohol license reinstated

Councillors stripped Ruya Food and Wine of its licence last July after it was caught selling drinks and vapes to underage customers, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Ruya in St James Street, Walthamstow, Credit: LDRS

A Walthamstow convenience store has been denied the chance to sell alcohol again after its licence was revoked.

Waltham Forest councillors stripped Ruya Food and Wine of its licence last July after it was caught selling drinks and vapes to underage customers. A cache of illegal tobacco was also recovered from beneath the counter.

A fresh licensing application was submitted in October by Nargis Sadak, who was revealed to be the previous operator’s sister at a licensing hearing today (30th January).

Her brother, Bilgin Redzheb, had appealed against the committee’s decision, which meant the shop could continue selling alcohol until a decision was made by Thames Magistrates’ Court.

Sadak had solely overseen the day-to-day operations from October until the appeal was dropped on 21st January, councillors were told.

An agent representing Sadak said she had a “proven record” of running the store independently of her brother, and that she should not be seen as “guilty by association”.

He added that staff would be trained to ask customers for ID under the Challenge 25 policy. A similar guarantee was made by Redzheb at the previous committee meeting in July, after a 15-year-old reportedly bought alcohol from the St James Street shop.

Though her agent said there was no evidence directly linking her to the previous offences, the council’s licensing team said Sadak’s relationship to Redzheb was enough to disqualify her.

An officer said there was “no point” in revoking a licence over “serious offences” and then allowing for a different family member to “continue the same operation”.

He said there had been issues with the family-run business for “many, many years,” after initially investigating the premises in 2017.

The council’s Trading Standards team also raised concerns. An officer told the committee the applicants had missed scheduled appointments, and the shop had been shuttered when representatives had tried visiting.

Councillors Sally Littlejohn, Jenny Gray and Raja Anwar deliberated for around 20 minutes before deciding to refuse the application.

Sadak and her agent left the town hall after the meeting was adjourned, but will be able to appeal the decision within 21 days.

The proposed hours for selling alcohol were from 8am until 11pm, seven days a week.

The shop was seen operating following the hearing.


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