A specialist wine bar that’s been a hit on Bishopthorpe Road is now able to open later.
But 2 Many Wines won’t lose its relaxed, European atmosphere, according to its founders Cyriaque Lajoinie and Beniamino Berluti.
The pair had initially hoped to extend the bar’s hours so it could stay open until 2am every day. But North Yorkshire Police said that would undermine work to prevent crime, disorder and public nuisance, so they scaled back their plans.
2 Many Wines, which opened last summer, will now be open until 11.30pm from Sunday to Thursday and 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays after a council licensing panel gave the go-ahead.
Mr Lajoinie said they were responding to requests from customers who often asked if they could stay later in the evenings.
He said: “We want to give back to the community what they have given us so far.
“Because of where we come from, France and Italy, we have this opportunity to show how we do things back home – not to say that anything here is wrong – it’s the fact that we don’t entice people to drink for drinking.
“We help them understand you need to have something to eat with it, for example. It’s only wine that we do – a few spirits, but not very much.
“We are also a shop, so people can take things away. We don’t push things – we try to make sure that people understand what the message is.”
A handful of residents raised concerns about prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder.
‘Not a nimby’
Paula Elenor, who lives nearby, told the meeting she was “not a nimby”.
She added: “I like the whole concept of the continental thing – everyone likes going on holiday to France and Italy and enjoying that, but there is a community here as well that work.”
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Richard Wetherill said: “The street has flourished far beyond what it used to be 40 years ago into something very meaningful for York Council and commerce, but I also think you have to strike a balance.”
The new licence also gives the bar permission to operate an outside seating area until 9pm each day.
Mr Lajoinie said: “We’re not here to annoy anybody, we’re here to create a community feeling with a good relationship with everybody to make sure that we survive as a business
“We train our staff to inform everybody when they leave that they need to be quiet and we don’t allow anybody to stand up outside – it’s only seating.”