A business owner who wants to open a new food outlet in the centre of Brighton is waiting to learn whether he can serve takeaway and delivery customers until 3am. Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council licensing officials objected to his plans which they said breached a policy on new late-night outlets other than in exceptional circumstances. Bahaaeldin Abdelalim, 42, told a council licensing panel that he would close the Station Grill, at 62 Queen’s Road, to diners at midnight if he was granted a late-night refreshment licence.
The licence would allow him to serve food and non-alcoholic drinks after 11pm and was discussed at a council licensing panel hearing. Mr Abdelalim said there was a need for a healthy hot food offering for late-night workers, including taxi and bus drivers and offered to restrict sales to collection and deliveries only after midnight. He said that as the restaurant was small and did not sell alcohol the circumstances were exceptional – and none of his neighbours had objected to the application.
Sussex Police licensing officer Hannah Staplehurst asked Mr Abdelalim about his experience of running a late-night operation in Britain. Mr Abdelalim had no experience of operating a late-night food business here but had 15 years’ experience in his home country of Egypt. Ms Staplehurst raised concerns about the number of crimes in Queen’s Road in the past year, including 11 sexual assaults.
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