Property owners in Podgorica are asking for an immediate inspection of Gurman after the Capital City revoked the venue’s operating approval and dismissed an appeal by its operator, RIVA R. In a request registered by the Ministry of Tourism on 14 October, they asked the Tourism Inspectorate to establish whether the business has a new valid legal basis to operate and to prohibit operations and seal the premises if it does not. The owners’ request is based on the decisions they submitted.
The Capital City’s Secretariat for Entrepreneurship and Investments revoked the approval by a decision dated 12 August 2026. The decision cancelled an approval issued on 25 March 2020 for RIVA R to conduct hospitality business under the name Gurman. On 1 October 2026, the Capital City’s Chief Administrator rejected the company’s appeal as unfounded.
The appeal decision’s reasoning says the latest lease addendum extended the rental period only until 27 May 2026. After that date, the competent authority received no new contract, addendum or other appropriate evidence of a legal basis for using the premises, according to the decision.
The Chief Administrator also assessed that starting court proceedings to secure a new contract does not, by itself, prove that a valid lease exists. The owners say the lease expired on 27 May and that the owner of the premises gave the tenant two deadlines to vacate.
Owners ask for coordinated inspection
The property owners say Gurman continues to operate despite the revocation. They also say the Tourism Inspectorate had previously cited the existence of a valid operating approval as the reason it could not take the measures they had requested.
The owners sent their request to Tourism Minister Milutin Buturović as well, asking for coordinated action by inspection services. They want the Tourism Inspectorate to conduct an inspection immediately, determine whether a new valid legal basis for the venue’s operations exists and, if it does not, prohibit the business from operating and seal Gurman.
They have also asked the competent authorities to disclose when the inspection was carried out, what it found and which measures were taken. Their request seeks action on the basis of the decisions provided, rather than unconfirmed allegations about tax irregularities, operating hours or public order.
Gurman is a hospitality venue operated by RIVA R in premises on Blaža Jovanovića Street, within the Euro Petrol filling station in Podgorica’s Block 5. The owners’ request puts the focus on whether the operator has obtained new documentation establishing a right to use the premises since the lease period ended.
