Deputy Murray Norton sold the St Aubin café to Jersey company Anatole Enterprise Ltd in March – several months after being elected.
The new owners decided it should remain as Murray’s and went on to spend thousands of pounds on branding in the hope of further promoting the well-known and popular name.
- £90 million of cuts to Jerseys public sector, including £70 million of staff savings.
- The introduction of a new health charge to raise £35 million, and a new sewage charge to raise £10 million.
- Cuts to welfare paid out by the Social Security Department to save £10 million, including the axing of the pensioners Christmas bonus of £83 each year.
But the business has faced a backlash from customers online – some of whom have threatened to boycott the café – after the Deputy recently voted in favour of the biggest programme of public-sector cuts ever seen in Jersey.
The cuts programme includes public-sector redundancies, a new health and sewage tax which could cost households £1,000 a year and the withdrawal of some benefits.
Custodio Gomes, joint owner of Anatole Enterprise Ltd, said that the restaurant’s Facebook page had received numerous comments from customers who thought the Deputy was still running the business.
Some have vowed not to visit the café again because of their feelings towards the politician, and others called for the business to change its name after the new owners told them the Deputy was not connected to the company.
Mr Gomes said: ‘I have been trying to tell them that we took over and we left the name the same but I don’t think the message has got across. Murray’s has got nothing to do with Murray Norton.
‘The comments people have posted are really horrible and they said, “We are not coming back because you are taking from the elderly”.
‘We need to raise awareness that he is no longer the owner.’
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He added that the company would not consider changing its name because they had recently spent thousands of pounds on branding.
Responding to the criticism, Deputy Norton said: ‘The owners decided to keep calling it Murray’s. If they are having difficulty with it being called Murray’s then perhaps Mr Gomes should change it.’
‘It has nothing to do with me and I do not own it. I did own it and run it successfully for 12 years and I decided it was time for a change.’
