Pub war might drive saint to drink
● An unholy spat between two pubs over who can rightfully sell booze has drawn in a Catholic church as they stake their claims on Durban’s Florida Road.
The battle between Dropkick Murphy’s and Republik is but one in a murky “restaurant war”, with diners and tourists becoming collateral casualties on the city’s most popular food strip.
For Republik, which is just a metre from Dropkick Murphy’s, the lack of drink may drive it out of business.
“There is a war on this road. The only reason we don’t have a [liquor] licence is because of our competition,” said Republik owner Matt Richardson.
He accused Laurence Dinsdale of Dropkick Murphy’s of stalling his liquor licence application with frivolous objections.
“Their letter [of objection] said we were close to a church, and schools and parks where children play, but they’re … probably closer to the church than we are,” he said.
Father Brett Williams of St Joseph’s Catholic Church, near the bars, said the parish would not stand in the way of the development of the precinct.
“How can Dropkick Murphy’s object to them [Republik] getting a licence when they are right next door? In fact, they are closer,” he said. “We have never objected and we would never. There are three churches on this road and if we all objected the entire road would collapse.”
Industry insiders, who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said the restaurant game was brutal.
“You hear rumours of how the old guard want to drive you out because they don’t want the competition,” one said.
Dinsdale responded that the complaint was made in his personal capacity and not as an owner of Dropkicks. He said he’d lost a tenant because of noise from Republik.
“Dropkick Murphy’s and I are not one and the same,” he added.