A popular Italian restaurant landed a fine after failing to display its food hygiene sticker showing a rating of one. Colosseo in Bridgend gave false information about its hygiene rating when an environmental health officer asked about the sticker.
Blerdo Bros, the company behind the Wyndham Street restaurant, has since sold the business to Prego Bridgend. "I am the new owner of the business and I wouldn’t want the previous owner’s actions and decisions to affect my new business," said Prego director Vitsentzos Oikonomh.
Blerdo Bros and its owner Sofoklis Christou were ordered to pay a total of £4,548 after a hearing last month at Cardiff Magistrates' Court following the offences last May. Prego and Blerdo Bros are both registered at an address in Lawrence Hill, Bristol, but Mr Oikonomh said: "There is no link between the two companies other than being registered at the same place. It was recommended to me as a good accountant and I received some good prices and I decided that they would be best for my company."
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Colosseo has an average customer rating of 4.6 stars after 140 Google reviews but last January the restaurant received a hygiene rating of just one of a possible five meaning 'major improvement necessary'. The court heard the restaurant did not display the sticker and Christou then misled an officer on May 11 last year by claiming he had sold the business.
No-one attended court to represent the company which was found guilty of failing to display the sticker and misleading an officer. In his absence Christou was found guilty of obstructing an officer.
Mr Oikonomh told WalesOnline he took on the lease in November. "I decided to maintain the same name for the restaurant because I found it creative and did not want to go through any expensive renovations because I wanted to open the restaurant for customers in the month of December as I thought it would be a profitable month for me," he said. "However I did make some necessary changes in the kitchen area especially."
Arturo Simone said he became a chef at Colosseo around a month ago after 12 years of experience in kitchens in Italy and the UK. He added most of the staff and equipment have changed since the poor hygiene rating. Bridgend council has provided the business with a new sticker which reads 'rating awaited' ahead of an inspection under the new ownership.
"Now it is in a very good condition," said Mr Simone. "The kitchen is all good now. Since the new owner took over everything is like it needs to be." Asked what problems had led to the rating of one the chef said he did not know but added: "Almost everything is new I think."
Blerdo Bros was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £1,277 towards the council's prosecution costs and a £150 victim services surcharge. The magistrates also sentenced Christou to a £750 fine, £796 in prosecution costs, and a £75 surcharge.
Ruba Sivagnanam, a councillor involved in the Shared Regulatory Services partnership between Bridgend, Cardiff, and Vale of Glamorgan councils, said: "The food hygiene rating scheme is mandatory in Wales. It allows members of the public to decide if they want to dine at a restaurant based on its food hygiene standards.
"Failure to display the rating is a way to mislead potential customers and this is why it is a criminal offence. Mr Christou clearly did not want the public to know that major hygiene improvements were needed at his restaurant and this has resulted in him receiving a substantial fine for his actions.”
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