White House Express kosher restaurant in Golders Green has been closed and is unlikely to reopen, the JC understands.

Acting on intelligence, immigration enforcement officers raided the premises in mid-February and arrested four men said to be working illegally.

Two of the men, a 26-year-old from India and a Pakistani, aged 27, were claimed to have overstayed their student visas. They are currently in immigration detention pending deportation.

A 31-year-old Indian was allegedly working in breach of his visa and a 33-year-old Afghan was said to have entered the UK illegally.

Immigration officials also discovered that another Indian man, aged 37, had an outstanding immigration application and did not have permission to work in the UK.

The restaurant was issued with a Civil Penalty Referral Notice and warned of penalties of up to £20,000 per illegal worker unless it could demonstrate that the appropriate right-to-work document checks were carried out.

Although the officers did not take “closure action”, the restaurant has been closed in recent weeks.

Leor Nissim, owner of the White House Express in Hendon – which he said was not connected to the Golders Green restaurant – told the JC that his understanding was that it would not reopen.

“The Golders Green branch is run as a franchise. What happens there does not affect the Hendon restaurant.

“As far as I know they were visited by immigration but the owner wanted to relocate anyway.”

The JC has requested comment from the owner of the Golders Green White House Express.