The husband and wife owners of a Covid-breach cafe have been hauled to court and fined. One claimed the Covid-19 pandemic was 'Nazi government propaganda' when council officers paid a visit.
Manchester city council said Kate and Luc Cafe, in Burnage, once hosted almost 30 customers during a period of coronavirus lockdown and 'repeatedly flouted Covid-19 restrictions'.
The cafe, on Burnage Lane, was closed by the council for three months in February, 2021, and subsequently had its alcohol licence stripped following numerous and repeated complaints, a town hall spokesman said.
"It was found to have continued trading during lockdown and refusing to take protective measures that were, at the time, required by businesses in order to keep members of the public safe," said the council in a statement on Friday.
Owners Lucjan Domanski, 39, of Chapel Street, Levenshulme, and Katarzyna Korzewnikow-Domanska, 46, of Buxton Road, Stockport, appeared before Manchester magistrates' court on Thursday. The cafe itself was the third defendant, said the council.
A District Judge found each of the three defendants guilty in their absence of four counts of failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. Each offence attracted a £1,000 fine, bringing the total to £12,000. They were also ordered to pay costs of £4,999, apportioned out at £1,666 each.
The council said that at the hearing, an individual purporting to be 'in a contract' with the defendants cited antiquated legislation, namely the Monopolies Act, 1662, as part of an argument that they could address the court. But the council spokesman said the District Judge did not permit the person to represent the defendants at the trial, at which point the individual, and the defendants, walked out of the court.
The council said: "On January 18, 2021, the council's licensing and out of hours team responded to a report from Greater Manchester Police that the premises was failing to follow restrictions which were in place at the time under coronavirus regulations.
"At a visit on January 28, a council officer attended the premises to investigate the complaint, during which one of the defendants, Lucjan Domanski, claimed that Covid-19 was 'Nazi government propaganda'.
"On 30 January, 2021 the council issued an improvement notice on the cafe and its directors, requiring compliance with the Coronavirus Regulations. However, clear disregard was shown towards this Improvement Notice, resulting in three Fixed Penalty Notices being served against the premises. In total, £7,000 of FPNs were accrued by the owners.
"Following the instigation of criminal proceedings by the licensing and out of hours team, the owners of the cafe Lucjan Domanski, 39, of Chapel Street, Levenshulme, and Katarzyna Korzewnikow-Domanska, 46, of Buxton Road, Stockport, appeared before Manchester magistrates' court on Thursday. The cafe itself was the third defendant."
After the case councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, the council's executive member for vibrant neighbourhoods said: "After such flagrant and repeated breaches of the law during the height of lockdown, I am incredibly pleased to see that justice has been served. I am grateful for the efforts of our officers and legal representatives for pursuing this case to its conclusion.
"Covid has had such a devastating impact on Manchester and it was truly disheartening to see that during such a critical period this premises refused to take precautions that so many others were taking.
"The council was and remains committed to doing everything in our power to protect the lives of our residents and I hope this sentence sends a clear message of that intent."
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