Church gets entangled in 'pub war'

An unholy spat between two pub bosses over who can rightfully sell booze has drawn in a Catholic church as they stake their claims on Durban's Florida Road.

The battle between owners of Dropkick Murphy's and Republik is but one in a murky "restaurant war", with diners and tourists becoming collateral casualties on the city's most popular food strip.

For Republik, which is just a metre from Dropkick Murphy's, the lack of drink may drive it out of business.

"There is a war on this road. The only reason we don't have a [liquor] licence is because of our competition," said Republik owner Matt Richardson.

He accused Laurence Dinsdale of Dropkick Murphy's of stalling his liquor licence application with frivolous and nonsensical objections.

"Their letter [of objection] said we were close to a church and too close to schools and parks where children play, but they're next door and probably closer to the church than we are," he said.

The objection pushed the process towards a formal hearing with the KZN Liquor Authority - the final step before the granting or refusal of a licence to sell booze.

"We need to have a hearing and we just don't know when that will happen. In the interim I'm probably losing half a million rand a month in revenue. Our business can't sustain another two months like this," said Richardson.

Customers have also been turned away, with other venues on the road also facing closure as they wait for approval from the liquor authority.

Father Brett Williams of St Joseph's Catholic Church, near the bars, said the parish would not stand in the way of the development of the precinct.

"How can [the owner of] Dropkick Murphy's object to them [Republik] getting a licence when they are right next door? In fact, they are closer. We have never objected and we would never. There are three churches on this road and if we all objected the entire road would collapse," he said.

"Our parishioners come to mass and then go across to have a drink and a meal. We would propose responsible use of alcohol."

In Dinsdale's letter of objection, obtained by the Sunday Times, he based his protestation on Republik's:

• Proximity to the church and a park "where children often play";
• Location in a residential area which is close to schools; and
• Proximity to a block of flats in which Dinsdale owns a property. He alleges the noise from the pub would make it impossible to find a tenant.

Dinsdale told the Sunday Times the issue of proximity to the church wasn't the main reason for fighting Republik's application; rather it was the noise pollution and the impact it would have on property owners in the adjacent block of flats.

Dinsdale responded that the complaint was made in his personal capacity and not as an owner of Dropkicks. He said he'd lost a tenant because of noise from Republik.

"Dropkick Murphy's and I are not one and the same," he added.

Industry insiders, who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said the restaurant game was brutal.

"It is hard to start a new business on this road. You hear rumours of how the old guard want to drive you out because they don't want the competition," one said.

Police spokesperson Lt Col Thulani Zwane said the police would never be driven by a single establishment to run a competitor out of business. The KZN Liquor Authority's Dimba Vuyani confirmed that an objection had stalled the issuing of Republik's licence.

He said the stipulated time frame for all compliant applications to receive a licence was 112 days.