Yamamori Izakaya noise dispute case adjourned until March

A hearing involving Yamamori Izakaya, a pub and restaurant, and Trinity Hospitality, owner of the property leased by The Hoxton Hotel, has been postponed by the high court until March 5, The Journal reports.

Last week, the hotel made headlines when it filed a lawsuit over the nightclub's noise levels. Yamamori Izakaya, which features live music five nights a week, has been open for decades, while the Hoxton (formerly the Central Hotel) reopened in November following renovations.

Trinity Hospitality told The Journal last week that they were forced to seek an injunction because Yamamori Izakaya had yet to facilitate joint acoustic testing, despite the Hoxton's efforts to "engage constructively" since late November, when the hotel reopened.

The owners of Yamamori Izakaya responded to the hotel's claims, stating that they "utterly reject" Trinity Hospitality's comments and that they provided ample warning about sound levels during construction.

This week, Trinity Hospitality issued a statement clarifying that the proceedings filed last week are not an attempt to close Yamamori Izakaya, but rather "to advance a testing and resolution process to reduce noise transfer into the hotel".

Stephan Ernest, the hotel manager, stated that the neighbouring business's "elevated noise levels" have severely disrupted guests' stays, forcing the hotel to withdraw a significant number of rooms.

“It is also hard to accept the company’s claim that it had no choice but to seek the injunction,” Yamamori said in its statement.

“The previous operators of the Central Hotel deployed the area over our premises as a function room.

"The current owners chose to convert this area into bedrooms despite our concerns, which were known to them."

Yamamori’s owners have stated that they commissioned an expert report to measure sound levels during the construction phase. They claim this report was given to the company to help them implement sound-limiting measures.

They also noted that they received the technical sound data from the hotel owners and are currently “analysing” this information.

The news of the injunction sparked outrage among the public, leading to the organisation of a protest in Great George’s Street on Tuesday.

Musician and People Before Profit member Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin told Newstalk that the protest was happening “because people are sick of the loss of cultural space venues in the city", adding that Yamamori Izakaya “has been there for a lot longer than the new management at the Hoxton.”

Taking to Instagram, he continued: “Izakaya is an integral part of Dublin's nightlife culture. Its loss would be yet another blow to the cultural life of the city.”