Cafe forced to close after poor hygiene discovered (From Watford Observer)

The Deluxe Café in Carpenders Park forced to close

5:00pm Friday 15th March 2013 in News By Ben Endley, Senior reporter

Police attending a reported break-in in a Carpenders Park cafe found hygiene conditions so poor the owner was forced to close.

Officers visited The Deluxe Café in Delta Gain on Monday, February 25 after the owner reported the incident from the previous weekend.

However, officers were so shocked by the "generally dirty conditions" they found inside that they requested an urgent environmental health inspection by a Three Rivers District Council officer.

The council say their officer discovered dirty conditions, no hot water supply in the cafe and no suitable means of chemical disinfection. There was also reportedly no control over cross contamination.

The operator, Mr Duran Ozcan, was interviewed and was instructed to close the premises immediately.

An extensive improvement in conditions took place within the next 48 hours and the premises was allowed to re-open on Wednesday, February 27.

On March 13 at West and Central Magistrates' Court, the decision of council officers to close the cafe was upheld by magistrates. The court heard that Mr Ozcan, who was present in court, is in the process of selling the business.

A Three Rivers spokesman said this action had been taken by the council on just three occasions in the past five years.

This is not the first time the Mr Ozcan has found himself in trouble with the council, in June 2012 he was fined £75 and ordered to pay £825 costs after not being able to produce documents showing he had proper arrangements for waste disposal in place at the cafe.

The cafe was rated three out of five or "generally satisfactory" in its last Scores on the Doors inspection in January 2012.