Police and council licensing officials have dropped their objections to a Brighton café selling takeaway alcohol.
Café Coho, in Queen’s Road, Brighton, already has a licence to serve drinks to customers from 7am to 11pm daily.
The business applied to vary the licence so that it could include drinks – sold with a “substantial takeaway meal” – from 11am to 10pm daily.
Café Coho said that it would only sell cans of beer and pre-mixed margarita, with a maximum of two cans with each food order.
The owner of the business, James Wilson, said in the application that there would be no drinking area outside the premises.
He also said that the business would not operate as an off-licence – and off-sales would not be promoted as a “standalone product”.
Both Brighton and Hove City Council and Sussex Police withdrew their objections before a licensing panel hearing which had been due to take place today (Tuesday 19 May).
After the objections were withdrawn, Mr Wilson said: “Coho has been serving Brighton for many years and we’re incredibly proud of our place in the city as one of Brighton’s original artisan coffee shops.
“We’re delighted that this application has been approved and excited by the opportunities it creates, not just for us as a business but for our customers and the wider city centre experience.
“Alcohol is not new to Coho and has formed part of our food-led offering for some time.
“What this approval now allows is the ability to evolve that offer in a way that reflects how people increasingly want to enjoy city centre spaces today, including the option to take carefully selected drinks alongside takeaway food from our hatch.
“Alongside our established Coho brunch offering, we’re preparing to launch Dip Tacos from our takeaway hatch in the coming weeks, serving birria tacos made with slow-cooked Sussex beef, loaded nachos and a small, carefully selected range of craft beers designed to complement the food.
“We think it’s another great independent addition to Brighton’s food scene and something a little different for people visiting the city centre.
“Brighton is built on independent businesses with character and community at their heart and we’re proud to continue investing in that tradition while supporting the vibrancy of the city centre.”
I realise businesses need to diversify etc, but it makes you wonder how cafe’s, takeaways, hairdressers etc, ever managed without an alcohol licence.
Number of them has grown a lot, now they all need a way to survive, booze is the answer for them but not for society in general, so many booze outlets around it seems all of the traders are flogging it.