Shoppers were stunned to find All in One on Muirhead Avenue East closed with their vital parcels inside
All in One on Muirhead Avenue East has been shuttered for two months
A shop shut down just days before Christmas, leaving people scrambling to retrieve gifts in time, will remain closed for another six weeks. People expecting to pick up pre-ordered items from the All in One shop on Muirhead Avenue East in Norris Green were met with a shock last month after finding the doors were closed.
As part of its ongoing crackdown on illegal vape sales, Liverpool Council’s licensing team swooped in to close the shop down on Wednesday. Illicit products including counterfeit cigarettes and vapes were being sold, including to underage customers.
It has left a number of regulars having to seek alternative methods to get hold of their vital gifts with less than three weeks before Christmas. A notice of the shop’s temporary closure was attached outside the building.
Liverpool Council has now confirmed its licensing officials secured a two-month closure order from the courts following a hearing on December 13. As a result, the business will remain shut until February 13 at the earliest.
However, its premises licence will now go under further scrutiny via the city’s licensing and gambling scrutiny committee when it meets on January 21. This could lead to further sanctions including the licence being revoked entirely.
The LDRS understands the closure notice was secured after the premises had received advice and warnings from the council’s alcohol and tobacco unit (ATU) about the sale of illicit vapes and cigarettes. It was also found to have allowed the sale of vapes to children under 18 on two occasions during covert test purchases by the ATU and two occasions of seizures of illicit tobacco and vapes were made from the premises.
According to the city council’s licensing register, the shop’s premises licence is held by director Rajeethan Markandu who was not present at the time the closure order was issued. One shopper, Gill Johnson told the LDRS she had ordered a gift to the shop for her daughter who also celebrates her birthday on Christmas Day.
She said: “I have reordered to my home which cost £3.99 while a discount code was still on. My son and his girlfriend have parcels there too, I get parcels delivered there quite a lot and my son picks them up for me as he lives across the road.”
Speaking after Christmas, Ms Johnson confirmed she was able to secure a replacement gift for her daughter but hadn’t been refunded yet for her original purchase.