From Dover Express 9 May 2002. Photo ref. D621/34A

THE "ELEPHANT and Hind" in Dover's Market Square has re-opened after a revamp, and is now called Bar Elle.

The refurbishment now means the pub has two plasma screens, a light and sound system and a new menu.

An application has been made for a late licence. Lessee Roy Gilham said: "lt's a huge step changing the pub into a trendy bar but the development was long overdue and the team and I are excited about the challenges.

"The plasma screens mean this is going to be the place to watch the World Cup - and we have plenty planned for it.

"Our motto for Bar Elle is eat, drink, dance, spectate and relax.

"We want our customers to know that they are welcome, whether they just want a coffee and a bite to eat or whether they are doing the circuit."

Elle of a change to bar

By Nadine Miller of the Dover Express 6 November 2003

BAR Elle in the town's Market Square is under new ownership and plans are being hatched to transform the business.

Millionaire Jim Gleeson bought the trendy pub two weeks ago and hopes to match the success of his other interest, C'est La Vie in Biggin Street, by taking elements of the sandwich shop and developing them.

Mr Gleeson also owns Nuage nightclub.

He said: "The three businesses complement each other and all have something to offer the town.

"What I'm hoping to achieve is a C'est La Vie which is licensed during the day and which also serves meals and is more like a restaurant.

"At night, of course, it will still be a young persons' bar.

"The blocks outside the front will be removed and a heated patio will be installed so people can dine there all year round as it does get quite cold. C'est La Vie is a coffee, sandwich bar, and during the day I want Bar Elle to become more of a bistro or brasserie."

Nick Muzakitis, pictured, will manage the new business and has experience on the Continent which Mr Gleeson hopes he will bring to the business.

The development of the bar is also hoped to encourage more people to the town and improve the business end of Dover near Market Square and Bench Street.

Mr Gleeson said: "Nick is going to bring a lot to Bar Elle with both ideas and experience.

"We're in an ideal position in the town as thousands of tourists pass by every day, and if it works it will be a massive boost not just for that end of town but for Dover.

"We've got to clean up the town and improve and promote it."

From the Dover Express, 11 November 2004.

Ellie seeks licence.

PUB owner Jim Gleeson's application for a renewal of a public entertainment's licence for The Ellie cafe bar in Dover's Market Square comes up for renewal on Tuesday.

There is an objection by Kent police, which alleges breaches of the existing licence, but there are no objections from Dover Town Council, the fire brigade or elsewhere.

A spot check on the pub in October by local authority inspectors found 246 people on the premises and no breaches of the regulations.

But police say when they visited the premises in July there were drunks on the premises, in breach of licensing obligations.

From the Dover Express, 17 March 2005.

Pub boss's plea for later hours.

BAR owner Jim Gleeson is appealing against a decision by licensing magistrates not to allow later drinking hours in his popular Ellie pub in Dover's Market Square. The hearing is set down for April 15, district councillors were told this week.

After a long legal fight conducted by solicitor Peter Sherred, magistrates renewed his existing licence, but Mr Gleeson failed to get the hours extended.

When the council's licensing committee meets on Monday, officials will seek agreement for chief environmental health officer Linda Golightly to conduct the appeal proceedings after consultations with Roger Frayne, who is chairman of that committee.

Officials, according to documents released this week, will also ask the committee to consider additional grounds for refusal to be raised at the appeal hearing.

When the variation of hours was originally rejected the committee did so claiming six conditions of Mr Gleeson's licence had not been complied with.

"It is indicative of poor management of the premises under the existing licence, such as to cause grave concern as to the licensee's ability properly to manage the variation applied for," said the licensing committee in October.

Mr Gleeson rejects these accusations while the licensing sub-committee in January accepted "sufficient improvements" in management of the premises had been made - but possibly not sufficient for longer opening hours.

From the Dover Express, 15 December 2005. Report by Laura Smith.

Licensing problems force businessman out of town.

BUSINESSMAN Jim Gleeson says he will not invest in Dover again after selling Market Square bar The Ellie, blaming "unnecessary problems" with the police for his decision.

The bar has been bought by London based entrepreneur Janak Masrani, who also purchased nightclub Studio One from Mr Gleeson last year.

Mr Gleeson was not available for interview after the sale last week, but briefed company secretary Amanda Robinson on the reasons for the move.

She said: "The reason he's sold is because of problems with the licensing authorities and counter-productive relations with the police.

"I think he feels victimised by them.

"He's fed up with it in Dover."

Mr Gleeson had previously told the Express he was involved in an ongoing and heated dispute with the force over the way The Ellie was run.

Earlier this year, the police objected to the bar's public entertainments licence being renewed over a string of alleged breaches, including public drunkenness.

Mr Gleeson refuted many of the claims and won his case at the end of an acrimonious, five-hour hearing, but was told he would be prosecuted for allegedly allowing too many people inside the premises at one time.

Miss Robinson said the "final straw" came this month, when the bar applied to have the maximum number of people allowed inside raised from 100 to 150.

She said: "We thought it would be a way of solving previous problems. Everyone approved it except the police.

"We don't know why they rejected it, because they haven't called us back.

''All the staff are really saddened."

Inspector John Merritt of the Neighbourhood Policing and Strategic Crime Reduction Unit said he could not comment on individual cases. where legal proceedings were pending.

He added reasons behind any objections were submitted to the licensing authority and forwarded to the applicant.

Mr Gleeson also owns cafe C'est La Vie, which is not on the market.

From the Dover Express, 5 January 2006. Report by Laura Smith.

Nightclub boss buys Ellie bar.

THE owner of Dover’s only nightclub says he hopes to invest even more money in the town after buying a second venue last week.

Janak Masrani bought "Studio 1" nightclub from Dover businessman Jim Gleeson last year for a reported £1 million.

At the end of December, he made a second purchase from Mr Gleeson, snapping up his Market Square bar the Ellie for an undisclosed sum.

Mr Masrani said: “I asked Jim if he wanted to sell it. We sat down and agreed a price and that was it.

“It is a good bar for my club. I think they will complement each other.”

Since taking over "Studio 1," Mr Masrani’s name has been linked to a number of projects in the town, including the creation of a tenpin bowling alley.

Although he has refused to confirm specific plans, he has always maintained he has long-term ambitions in Dover.

He said: “When I took over the club I promised to try to expand in the town, and with the Ellie here we are.

“Hopefully I will expand even further. I am working on a couple of other things. Watch this space.”

Mr Masrani has previously won praise from the police for cracking down on crime within Adrian Street’s "Studio 1," formerly "Nu Age," and beefing up security on its door.

He also boosted business earlier this year by setting up a competition offering clubbers the chance to win free flights to destinations across Europe.

From the Dover Express, 6 March 2008.

Bar’s owner to face music in licence row.

MUSIC could be banned from Ellie cafe bar in Dover after a writ was issued against the owner.

Music licensing group Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL) has launched High Court proceedings against boss Janek Masrani seeking a ban on him playing tunes until he renews his music licenses.

The Groovy Thang by Minimal Funk and Tonight by Phats and Small are a couple of the sounds Mr Masrani is accused of playing at the bar despite holding no licence to play music in public. The writ also claims copyright infringements.

Hamlins solicitors, acting for PPL, claim in the writ that PPL wrote to Mr Masrani in July and November 2007 and sent him a leaflet explaining why he needed a licence to play records in public, telling him he would infringe copyright if he publicly played music without one.

The writ claims he refused an offer to obtain a music licence.

Now PPL is seeking an injunction banning him from infringing copyright by publicly playing sound recordings without a licence, and from authorising others to do so”.

PPL also seeks costs, which could be more than £ 1,500.

PPL’s licences apply to all forms of mechanically recorded music, such as records, tapes and CDs, in its repertoire, which covers 97 per cent of all music.

A spokesman for PPL said: “Whenever you play a sound recording in public there are two separate licence fees to be paid. PPL distributes its licence fees to record companies, recording artists and musicians, and the Performing Rights Society collects a separate licence fee which they distribute to composers and music publishers.”