Pendle Hill restaurant owner pleads for higher health and safety standards
A Pendle Hill business owner is calling for fellow food vendors to clean up their act.
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A Pendle Hill business owner is calling for fellow food vendors to clean up their act.
Ambi’s Indian restaurant owner Vimalasri Gunaratnam slammed traders, saying there was a culture of lax hygiene and workplace standards among eateries in the suburb.
“They’re coming from India and Sri Lanka, and they don’t have proper qualifications,’’ Mr Gunaratnam said.
“They’re not properly trained. They’re not that strict and they know they don’t get fined, the owner does. The quality is poor.”
Mr Gunaratnam, who started working at Ambi’s eight months ago, wants the council to uphold strict inspections and sting employees in the pocket.
He said he was used to high standards from working at Marrickville Golf Club but found a different culture at Pendle Hill.
The NSW Food Authority lists two businesses in Pendle Hill, including Ambi’s, on the list of food offences since 2017.
Before Mr Gunaratnam owned it, Ambi’s was fined $1540 in April for failing to comply with a prohibition order.
In August, another business in the suburb was fined $1320 for failing to clean equipment, prevent contamination and provide proper fittings.
As well as the need for better hygiene and safety, Mr Gunaratnam would welcome more choice of restaurants at Pendle Hill.
Before he migrated to Australia in 1999, Mr Gunaratnam worked in Messina, Sicily.
He said the council there capped the type of restaurants permitted to operate so one type of cuisine could not dominate the market and he wanted Cumberland Council to consider implementing a similar system.
Increasing one-hour parking could also boost business, Mr Gunaratnam said.
“I think two-hour parking is better for me because people are more relaxed when they come in,’’ he said.
Impressive Cafe owner Mahesh Varatharajah said Greystanes, Pemulway and Toongabbie commuters parked at Pendle Hill to use the station, increasing the demand for more spaces.
COUNCIL CRACKDOWN
Crippling traffic, parking woes, shoplifting and vandalism.
Cumberland Council is appointing a place liaison officer to tackle cleanliness and maintenance while a crime prevention officer works with the community to curb anti-social behaviour.
Cumberland Council’s community development director Brooke Endycott said the place liaison officer would start in June when the community and traders could approach her.
“One of the things that we understand is that people want to see an increased presence of council in our various neighbourhoods and someone as a connection point and to have a connection with council,’’ she said.
“We want to be proactive addressing the issues and building relationships with the community. “It’s about improving the way our town centres look.”
On the crime front, crime prevention officer Teresa Russo works with businesses to boost safety.
Ambi’s Indian restaurant owner Vimalasri Gunaratnam has recently installed CCTV cameras in his restaurant after securing a $500 grant from the council.
The installation followed a November meeting with the council that allowed businesses to identify concerns and find solutions.
Mr Gunaratnam said a woman waved a butter knife and harassed staff.
He also had be careful would-be thieves could not break into restaurant from the laneway at the back.
“Some people come yelling and shouting because they’re on drugs,’’ he said.
IN OTHER NEWS
Mahesh Varatharajah, who runs Impressive Cafe on the same street, deals with similar problems.
“People just walk in and ask ‘Can I use your toilet?’’’ he said.
He has also expressed the need for more lighting outside the cafe.
The council is tackling graffiti by equipping business owners with kits to clear tags defacing their buildings.
The kits contain heavy duty removal spray, wiping cloths, brushes, gloves, chemical-resistant goggles, scourer pads and a user guide.
● Cumberland Council will hold a meeting at Toongabbie Community Centre on Tuesday, March 26, from 6pm to 8pm.
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