STACY SQUIRES/Things
The Lotus-Heart vegetarian restaurant on St Asaph St, in central Christchurch, is facing two charges for intentionally failing to comply with a Covid-19 health order. (File photo)
A Christchurch restaurant $44,000 fine for continued Covid rule violations has referred his case to the courts after the fines went unpaid.
No one from the restaurant appeared on The Lotus-Heart New Zealand Ltd’s court list on Friday.
It faces two charges for deliberately failing to comply with a Covid-19 health order.
On Friday, Judge Gerard Lynch said he was confident the restaurant was aware of the charges it was facing — two counts of deliberately failing to comply with a Covid-19 health order — and ordered company representatives to fire in October. to appear for sentencing.
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* Covid-19: Cafe fined $16,000 for failing to check vaccine passes going to ‘private membership’
* Repeatedly Covid-violating restaurant Lotus-Heart swears customers to ‘covenant of silence’ through private contracts
* ‘Lotus-Heart is no longer affiliated with our organization’: restaurant membership revoked after Covid-19 breaches
The company was phased out by WorkSafe for failing to display QR codes and vaccine pass signage, and for failing to have systems in place to monitor customers’ vaccine status during New Zealand’s vaccine mandate while under alert level restrictions.
stuff first raised concerns about the restaurant’s compliance with Covid-19 rules after it was revealed none of his employees wore masks and instead wore exemption lines in October 2021.
Lotus-Heart owner Bhuvah Thurston has declined to comment multiple times and previously banned all members of The press from her restaurant.
It is clear that Thurston and the restaurant staff were trying to hinder WorkSafe inspectors from doing their jobs while they were visiting the property.
Stacy Squires/Things
Lotus-Heart owner Bhuvah Thurston has refused to contact WorkSafe and failed to show up for the restaurant’s hearing date on Friday. (File photo)
The restaurant had until mid-February to pay the first $20,000 in fines and early March to pay the final $24,000. Since the fines remained unpaid, the case was referred to the courts.
Thurston was unwilling to partner with WorkSafe or change her company’s practices, which the regulator said was the main reason the restaurant was fined.
She started demanding everyone who entered the premises to sign a private contract in which you swear a “covenant of silence” before they could dine there.
The Lotus-Heart claimed more than $154,000 from the government’s Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme.
The restaurant was born from Thurston’s association with Sri Chinmoy – an Indian spiritual teacher – and the staff were self-proclaimed “students” of his.
The director of the Sri Chinmoy Center in New Zealand, Jogyata Dallas, previously said the organization was “completely against” the actions of the restaurant staff.
“Our efforts to encourage Lotus-Heart staff and manager to comply with Covid mandates have not been successful.
“Their current stance misrepresents us and does a disservice to the memory and legacy of a great humanitarian and peacemaker.”
Sri Chinmoy had since withdrawn from the restaurant.
Thurston could not be reached for comment Friday.