Cloud 9 When I took over the chairman’s role at the UFC I promised transparency. I informed the committee at our first meeting that there would be no secrets and that all minutes would be published for the members to see. I also said that the club would be run professionally, honestly and in a business like fashion. I believe we have a committee who actively represent all of the membership and who have worked hard, giving their own time so that you the club members can benefit from the facility you have now ....and I can assure you that there’s lots more to come. Background to Cloud 9 The Sky Cafe, at the time when this committee formed, was a ‘greasy spoon. ..on many occasions without a spoon’ because a previous committee had allowed the incumbent to continue trading beyond his agreed licence period. He therefore had what you might call ‘squatters’ rights’. This committee was forced (at your expense) to take him as far as the steps of the bankruptcy court to remove him. I made it quite clear to the current committee that this was never to happen again. Once we had recovered the premises we moved quickly. With the design help of a long standing member, who has been in that industry most of his life, and £25,000 of the club’s funds (at a time when we had just about rescued the club from the brink of bankruptcy) ....we built the cafe as you know it now. You may remember that I then went to the membership for a name ...and eventually had a ‘members-wide’ vote. Cloud 9, our Ulster Flying Club cafe was born. We interviewed several prospects and it was agreed to give Ron & Nanda a 12 month licence to run our cafe. This was their first year in business, hence it was agreed that the licence fee (rent) would be waived for the first three months and then held at a preferential rate for the remainder of the year (if you want to know the exact amount please ask me ..no secrets, but under the terms of the agreement I would need Ron & Nanda’s permission to tell you...it’s called commercial confidentiality). Their licence terminated on the 18th November 2013 The terms of the licence were specific and required the operator to provide members and customers with a restaurant service from 09:00hrs to 17:00hrs. Several months prior to the end of the licence period, Ron and Nanda were informed that the rent would be increased for year two and a figure was notified to them. Closer to the date, I personally spent over two hours with them, discussing my vision for the renovation of the rest of the club house and taking their feedback on what they would need in the way of facilities and space were we to add a members’ only eating area ...with its own simplified menu etc. The member who had designed Cloud 9 for us had been privy to all of this and had already done preparatory work towards the design. Progress has been held up as we determined how much of the current space would be available for the make-over and how radical we are going to be. Ron had questioned the level of the rent increase and I informed him that this would be an opportunity for him to ask the committee for any additional facilities that he may need as we progressed with the development. He indicated that his immediate needs were for a sink and a commercial dishwasher. I asked him to get me quotes for both. This was three weeks before the end of his licence period. No quotations were received, only an indication that he had been unable to source a dishwasher through local auction houses. With two weeks to go before the end of the licence it became obvious that the birth of their child would coincide with the need for Nanda and Ron to be sitting in front of a solicitor to sign a licence and franchise document. The decision was taken by us to avoid this by asking our solicitors (at your expense) to remove the problem of Nanda having to be present by creating a legal ‘side letter’ that would only require Ron’s signature. This would simply extend the current licence and add in or remove any terms or conditions. With the likely renovation taking place within the next six months, it was decided that the letter would specify the new rent, the extension period of six months and a reminder of one of the main terms, namely that the cafe was required to provide service beyond 14:30hrs ....this to resolve complaints that had been made to committee members. Ron was aware of the contents of the letter and that it would need to be signed before mid-night on the 18th Nov ...if he was to trade on the 19th...and that he would not be allowed to open Cloud 9 beyond the lease termination without signing it. This is not about personalities ...it’s about legal detail.....(see Sky Cafe above) I received a phone call from Ron on Sunday the 17th in which he informed me that they had decided not to renew their lease. I was both surprised and disappointed by their decision. I pointed out to Ron that this was far from the best time to be making such an important decision. I then asked him to re-consider and offered him a month’s extension to his current lease, at the current rates, to give them time to think this through in less ‘difficult circumstances’. Ron thanked me for the offer and said that he would consult with Nanda. Five minutes later he called back and confirmed that they were adamant that they would not be renewing their lease....I once again expressed both my sadness and disappointment as I had enjoyed their company and what they had brought to our cafe. Ron and Nanda have assured me that they had no plans in place, during any of the above, to open a catering facility elsewhere in Newtownards. All the above are facts as I know them to have happened. Your Cloud 9 cafe re-opens this Saturday at 09:00hrs.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:57:19 +0000
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