The owner of the controversial Cloud 9 café has had his business licence permanently revoked following a hearing earlier this month.
The Toronto Licensing Tribunal heard from Hussein Souddo, owner of Rotana Inc. and the Danforth’s Cloud 9 café, and counsel representing the city’s municipal licensing standard branch on May 16 and 18. Tribunal chair Richard Quan decided at the hearing’s end to permanently revoke the café’s business licence.
The café had its licence suspended temporarily following a shooting outside of the café earlier this year. The shooting, which killed 20-year-old Abdullah Farah April 17, was the third homicide in the immediate vicinity over three years.
Neighbouring residents and councillors have long complained about the business and were vocal that they wanted the licence revoked. The storefront the café operated from along with several other storefronts in the building is set to open as a daycare, but residents were concerned that the owner would move Cloud 9 to another location in the area.
While the licence for this particular building has been revoked, Souddo could still apply for a new business licence. The tribunal heard testimony from Souddo, who stated that he and his wife have fallen on financial hardship following the closure of the café. He was concerned that the revoking of this licence would impact his ability to open up another business.
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