Plea over Vic laneway bar food practices
A bar operating in a Melbourne laneway admits it breached food safety standards, a court has been told.
Sister Bella and the director of the company that owns it, Jerome Borazio, were mentioned in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday.
An inspection of the secluded nightspot in April found more than a dozen alleged breaches of the Food Standards Code, court documents show.
The City of Melbourne has alleged food was not stored properly, preparation areas were not kept clean and hand-washing facilities were not maintained.
Sister Bella is in Sniders Lane, behind Melbourne Central.
Barrister Andrew Sim, representing the council, told the court there had been discussions and that matters relating to Sister Bella would proceed to a plea hearing early next year.
He said there were charges against the club and Mr Borazio and the latter would be withdrawn once the Sister Bella matter was finalised.
Magistrate Franz Holzer congratulated the parties for working together.
"It's obviously a complicated matter and one that attracted some notoriety," he said.
Mr Borazio, of Melbourne, is responsible for some of the city's most famous venues, including Ponyfish Island and 1000 Pound Bend, as well as the Laneway Festival.
He has also launched a five-star rooftop campsite on top of the Melbourne Central building.
The plea hearing for Sister Bella is in February.
A lawyer for the nightspot has previously told the court the company admitted 90 per cent of the City of Melbourne's allegations and had been working with the council to improve.
Mr Borazio's matter is expected back before the court in March.
Source: Nine News / AAP, 13th November 2015
Originally published as: Plea over Vic laneway bar food practices
