TOWIE restaurant stripped of licence after hosting party for 170 people in lockdown

A ‘Covid factory’ restaurant has been stripped of its licence after hosting parties of up to 170 people during lockdown.

Melin restaurant and nightclub in Chigwell, Essex, is popular with reality stars from the TV series The Only Way Is Essex.

But the venue has had its licence revoked after breaching lockdown restrictions on at least 13 occasions between May and November.  

At one party, broken up by police in November, 170 people were partying while the windows were blacked out and fire escapes were blocked.

Lauren Goodger enjoyed a night out at Melin in March and Bobby Norris and Saffron Lempriere were spotted having a heated argument outside the venue in August. 

Owner Ali Melin is currently in Dubai where he is opening another restaurant and regularly poses with models and influencers on his Instagram account.

On Wednesday, despite travel overseas currently being banned, he posted a story urging his followers to ‘get your flights tomorrow’ to visit his new restaurant in the UAE.

Licencing committee councillor Paul Canal slammed the restaurant for ‘operating a Covid-19 factory’ during the pandemic.

He said: ‘I wish to call [Melin] a nightclub because that’s how they were operating. I believe a premises of this size with over 100 people inside is a Covid-19 factory.

‘The way in which Melin has been run demonstrates that the owner is not in a position to act responsibly, and is unlikely to change.’

Mr Melin refused to hand over CCTV footage to officers after it took them ten minutes to barge through the doors to break up a party of more than 100 people on November 3.

Councillor Namreen Chaudhry said: ‘We find that Mr Ali has no intention to operate the premises in a lawful manner.

‘His failure to comply with the existing licensing conditions or pay any heed to previous regulatory intervention leaves us with no option but to revoke the licence.’

In September, it emerged Ali Melin sent his staff a voice message warning he would ‘take them to the basement’ if they were caught taking tips.

According to the Sun, he told workers, ‘you take money from me, I’ll take something from you’.

He warned he had more than 50 CCTV cameras watching the restaurant, adding: ‘You are not paid any tips whatsoever. Nobody has the right to put tips in their pocket whatsoever.

‘I can hear everything and I can see everything. If I see again, yes again, that someone has put money in their pocket from a customer I will either 1.) report it to the police or 2.) take them into the basement.’

The Leader of Redbridge Council Cllr Jas Athwal said: ‘This should send out a strong message to those who think they can flout licensing conditions and COVID guidelines.

‘We have many licensed premises in the borough, the large majority of which have worked hard to follow the pandemic guidelines and keep local people safe.

‘And then we have Mr Melin, who has consistently shown a flagrant and arrogant disregard for his patron’s safety and the wider community’s health.

‘Redbridge has one of the country’s highest infection rates, so it is truly shocking that a local business was willing to jeopardise people’s health and safety purely for financial gain.

‘When you consider the sheer number of incidents that took place in a relatively short period, it’s no wonder the committee reached the decision they did. Mr Melin only has himself to blame for being in this position.’