BRADDA Glen Restaurant has had its application for a restaurant licence approved.
The new restaurant, owned and leased out by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, opened its doors at the end of last month.
Tenant Andy Hardy, who also runs The Courthouse in Douglas, originally applied for a public house licence which would have allowed the restaurant to serve alcohol with a light snack or meal and would have permitted music to be played until 12am.
However this application was refused after some local residents raised concerns over noise and people leaving the building at night.
Andy said having a licence for the restaurant was "vital in ensuring the business survives" and applied instead for a restaurant licence.
The case was heard in front of magistrates on Thursday.
Andy explained: "We got the restaurant licence and background music approved which means that we can sell alcohol and have background music – so basically trade as a normal restaurant."
However a decision on whether the restaurant can have live music and dancing until 12am (under section 28 of the licence) was delayed after the court over-ran.
A further hearing will now take place on July 11 to determine if this will be approved.
Andy continued: "We have to wait for the hearing to take place as the magistrates did not have time to hear both sides’ arguments and make a decision
"There is nothing we can do as the late music and noise fears are the bits the residents are mainly upset about as they feel that if we have functions like weddings and christenings etc then people will be rowdy leaving and the noise and people will impact negatively on their homes and quality of life.
"This is difficult for me as obviously people planning weddings and functions need to know if they can have the venue and also most functions want to have the ability to dance and have fun. We have loads of potential bookings that I cannot confirm until we know where we stand.
"We will have to wait until July 11 to see if we get the final piece of the puzzle but the magistrate did compliment us and the department on a stunning build and were greatly impressed with what had been achieved at Bradda Glen, saying it was an asset for the local community and Island, so I have my fingers crossed it will all work out and we get the opportunity to show what we can do."
Bradda Glen Restaurant is open from 10am to 3pm and 6pm to 10pm from Monday to Friday. It is open from 10am to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. For more information telephone 01624 837713.
