Licensing hearing after bar employed illegal chef

A council hearing will decide whether a club forced to close after employing an illegal worker will be allowed to re-open.

Calif Bar, in Wolverhampton, had its licence revoked by City of Wolverhampton Council in April, over employment of an illegal worker as a chef in 2025.

The council's licensing subcommittee said owner Isi Lucky Idahor had shown a "total lack of compliance with rules and regulations" and ordered the closure of the nightclub and restaurant, saying he was unfit to run the venue.

A new applicant, Lucky Iguodala, has applied to re-open the Stafford Street club as Vivant Lounge with opening hours from 11:00 until 05:00, and the hearing is due to take place on 29 July.

Calif Bar was fined £45,000, which remains unpaid, last year after the Home Office's immigration enforcement officers discovered Idahor had employed the illegal chef.

Idahor said he put the club into liquidation in September last year because he was unable to pay the fine or a £14,000 fine from magistrates for breaching hygiene standards in 2022.

Since then, West Midlands Police has raised concerns about the new application and asked for the club's closing time to be 02:00.

West Midlands Fire Service also objected, saying the venue's fire safety risk assessments were "not suitable or sufficient."

The venue sits within City of Wolverhampton Council's "cumulative impact zone", because of higher crime and disorder rates and the density of pubs, clubs, late-night venues and takeaways in the city centre.

This means that new licence applications are subject to stricter conditions and the onus is put on new venues to prove their business will not add to existing issues.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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