The wine bar's licence was suspended in 2023 after hosting a number of late-night lock-ins and was caught again in September last year
16:16, 15 Jan 2026
The future of a Wolverhampton wine bar is hanging in the balance after its ex-footballer owner was stripped of his licence.
City of Wolverhampton Council has revoked the licence for Chill Wine Bar in Tettenhall owned by former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Mo Camara after a number of late-night lock-ins were held in September last year – nearly 18 months after its licence was suspended for serving illegally after hours.
A hearing was held on January 6 with councillors telling Mr Camara he would be informed of their decision within the coming days.
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It has now been confirmed the committee decided to revoke the licence.
A review of the bar’s CCTV footage following complaints from neighbours found the wine bar open and serving after its licensed hours on two nights in September last year.
Door staff were also seen serving drinks and loud music remained on past the designated midnight cut-off according to the council.
During the hearing, environmental health officers said the music from Chill Wine Bar was so loud it would stop people sleeping and they could ‘sing along to the lyrics’ from the neighbour’s house due to the high volume.
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Mr Camara also revealed during the hearing that he was looking to sell the Tettenhall bar.
“Just give me a chance to sell my business because I feel like I can’t do it any more,” he told councillors on January 6. “I can’t make you guys happy, I can’t make anyone happy with this business.”
The wine bar had its licence suspended in 2024 after it was caught serving drinks after hours on a number of occasions despite previous warnings from the council.
In December, the council rejected a plea by Mr Camara to open later.
The council’s licensing and environmental health departments and West Midlands Police had objected over concerns it would add to ongoing problems with late-night noise.
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Later that week, a ‘large’ group of people had become “uncontrollable” after they were asked to leave which resulted in one of the bar’s windows being smashed.
Mr Camara said he was “subjected to violence and aggression outside the premises” which resulted in police attending.
Of the incident, Mr Camara told the hearing he felt he “could not win” after trying to follow the rules had resulted in a broken window.
He said his pleas with patrons to leave had fallen on deaf ears as he explained he was ‘already in trouble with the council’ over previous hearings and the looming review.
“I can’t win both ways now,” he added.
At the hearing on December 9, it was revealed CCTV footage from September showed the wine bar still open at 1.20am despite an agreed 12.30am closing time.
Mr Camara told councillors he had experienced a “tough time” after the Covid-19 pandemic and pleaded to extend the opening hours to “keep a hold of his business.”
“I’m struggling to pay my bills,” he told the hearing. “People think that because I’m an ex-footballer [I’ve got lots of money]. I have to pay my staff, council tax is going up, business rates are going up and I’m struggling to keep a hold of my business.”
“I’m just asking for an extra half an hour. Everywhere else shuts at 12am and we’ll just get an extra 30 minutes to just help my business grow a bit.
“I make some mistakes sometimes but that’s life… I’m trying to make people happy.
“I’m not a bad person,” he later said. “I’m no gangster.”
City of Wolverhampton Council said the issues which led to the licence being suspended 18 months ago had already been repeated and extending the hours would “only exacerbate them further.”
Ahead of the hearing, a Tettenhall neighbour said in an objection that there had been a “history of disregard for local residents from people visiting the bar.”
The bar, which opened in the village’s High Street in 2017, had its licence suspended for a month following a hearing in July last year for allowing three late-night lock-ins.
Mr Camara was also removed as the bar’s supervisor after allowing drinks to be served to a packed bar on consecutive weekends in February and again in March – despite a warning from the council – but he was allowed to remain as the venue’s licence holder.