Two Made In Chelsea sisters have enraged one of Britain’s most distinguished opera stars with plans to serve alcohol on Sunday mornings at their vegan restaurant.
Baritone Sir Thomas Allen said the plans by the restaurant set up by Lucy and Tiffany Watson were “entirely inappropriate” for the area in Fulham.
The reality TV stars opened their vegan hotspot called Tell Your Friends in New King’s Road, Parsons Green, last year. Their father Clive Watson, chairman of the City Pub Group, also appeared in the show and helped set up the diner.
However, a number of residents have objected to their latest proposal to serve alcohol from 10am on Sundays — two hours earlier than the current licence allows. It says it wants to “allow for brunch with sparkling wine, Bloody Marys etc”.
The application by The City Pub Group has also asked to remove a condition that means they must keep the front doors closed.
Sir Thomas, who is the chancellor of Durham University, wrote to Hammersmith and Fulham council saying the hours were “excessive”. Famous for the role of Don Giovanni, the 74-year-old gave his final performance after 40 years at the Royal Opera House in March.
He wrote: “The need to sell alcohol from 10am also beggars belief ... these hours of alcohol availability do not at all tally with the restaurant purporting to operate under health-driven ‘vegan’ principles.
“The application seems clearly to have been kept on hold by the owners following several months of operation masquerading as one thing, only now to reveal its true colours as a late-operating, inevitably rowdy, drinking establishment — not the vegan outlet it purports to be.
“The proposal is entirely inappropriate to the area and will lead to endless conflict between customers and residents who have enjoyed and assumed a quiet lifestyle.”
His wife Jeannie Allen, a former model, also objected to the application. They were joined by other neighbours including Monika Miler who said the plan would “destroy the ambience” of the neighbourhood.
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A letter from the restaurant’s solicitors in response to neighbours’ concerns said they would add two conditions: ensuring the sale of alcohol from 10am to noon is “ancillary to the provision of substantial food” and that front doors would remain closed from 9pm.
The letter from the firm Joelson said: “The premises is a good neighbour and operates as a quiet vegan restaurant where alcohol sales are only 15 per cent of overall turnover. Given this, the assurances given above and the proffering of two additional conditions, the applicant hopes that local residents now have the necessary reassurances.”
Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s licensing sub-Committee was expected to make a decision at a meeting tonight.
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