Wolverhampton club shut down over illegal worker applies to re-open
Calif Bar was fined £45,000 last year
A club that was closed down after employing an illegal worker as a chef has already applied to re-open.
Calif Bar in Stafford Street, Wolverhampton had its licence revoked by City of Wolverhampton Council following a hearing earlier this month over the employment of an illegal worker in 2025.
The council’s licensing subcommittee said owner Isi Lucky Idahor had shown a “total lack of compliance with rules and regulations” and believed he was unfit to run the venue when deciding to close the nightclub and restaurant.
New applicant Lucky Iguodala has applied to re-open the Stafford Street club as Vivant Lounge with 11am to 5am opening hours proposed.
Vivant Lounge was registered as a new company on April 19.
Mr Iguodala is also listed as director of company Lucky Ventures which had its application to dissolve the company rejected at the end of last year.
The company’s accounts have not been submitted to Companies House since 2023.
Calif Bar was fined £45,000 last year after the Home Office’s immigration enforcement officers discovered Mr Idahor had employed a chef who had no right to work in the UK – which remains unpaid.
The woman, who was arrested by immigration officers following the inspection, had held a valid visiting visa from September 2007 to March 2008 but did not return when it expired and had never held the right to work in the UK.
Cllr Zee Russell, who chaired the licensing hearing on April 8, told Mr Idaho it appeared he had ‘no idea’ over the process to check if workers had the legal right to work in the UK.
Mr Idahor said he put the club into liquidation in September last year because he was unable to pay the £45,000 fine or a £14,000 fine from magistrates for breaching hygiene standards in 2022.
Home Office immigration officers had inspected the club in May last year only to be given false personal details by the unnamed member of staff who later said she had been employed by the club for around a year as a chef working three hours a day, once or twice a week.
However, Mr Idahor, who has run the city centre venue since 2014, contradicted this later telling officers that the woman had worked for him for around two months doing small jobs on an irregular basis.
He also told officers that he had seen a page from her passport but was unaware she had no right to work in the UK.
West Midlands Police had supported the review as well as the Home Office’s calls to revoke the licence.
Mr Idahor was fined £14,000 in 2023 after admitting six breaches of food safety and hygiene regulations at Dudley magistrates court.
Environmental health officers from City of Wolverhampton Council found an ‘active’ cockroach infestation at the Stafford Street bar during a routine inspection in 2022.
Dirty crockery, surfaces and pipework were also found alongside ‘poor’ washing facilities.
Staff were also not properly trained in food safety and hygiene.