Commission Denies Later Tommy’s Hours

Mian Iftikhar’s six-month battle with the Cambridge License Commission ended yesterday, when the commission voted for Tommy’s House of Pizza’s closing time to remain at 2 a.m.

The city changed the pizzeria’s closing time from 3 to 2 a.m. last spring in response to noise complaints from the eatery’s neighbor.

Iftikhar, who said his sales are down about 15 percent as a result, made a last-ditch effort to reinstate the later closing time at a hearing Tuesday night.

“I’m not surprised,” Iftikhar said yesterday when he learned of the commission’s decision. “I had just a very faint hope they would consider what I said.”

At last Tuesday’s hearing, three Cambridge residents spoke against the pizzeria, complaining about late-night noise and drunken patrons.

“It’s been a longstanding problem,” said Richard Scali, the commission’s executive officer. “The previous owner also had a problem with the closing hour. When the new gentleman came in, we had the chance to reconsider the closing time.”

According to 40 Bow St. resident Genevieve McMillan, who initiated the complaints against the eatery, customers regularly yell and even throw food at her car.

With the late-night institution threatened, students circulated an e-mail on at least two House lists Wednesday night asking Tommy’s patrons to call the License Commission and lobby for later hours.

Between 8:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. yesterday, about 80 loyal customers left voicemail messages for members of the License Commission, Scali said, adding that he even received a fax in support of the pizzeria from a Harvard Street resident.

“Technically, anything that comes in after the hearing is not evidence, but the commissioners were advised of the calls and the fax,” Scali said.

C. Jonathan Gattman ’03 was one of the 80 pizzeria patrons to leave a message for the commission Wednesday night.

“I feel that Tommy’s is a very important part of undergraduate life. I go there after I’ve been out late at night, to see people and to cool down,” Gattman said. “It’s rather silly that three Cambridge residents have been able to outvoice several thousand Harvard students.”

Iftikhar said he appreciated the students’ support—and hopes it will translate to better sales at an earlier hour.

Although he used to allow hungry customers to remain in the pizzeria past closing time, all patrons will now have to leave by 2 a.m. Scali said the city’s chief license investigator, Andrea Boyer, will conduct unannounced monitoring visits to the establishment to make sure the doors are closed on time.

Scali said the closing time would only be reconsidered if McMillan and the Harvard Square Defense Fund return to the License Commission to say noise outside the pizzeria has decreased.

“It is up to [Iftikhar] to monitor his customers. He brings people to that area. It’s his responsibility to monitor them,” Scali said.

But Ifitkhar said it is not realistic to expect him to control customers once they have left the pizzeria.

“What can I do? Tell the kids outside to not shout?” he asked. “They’ll say ‘What are you talking about?’”

But a disheartened Iftikhar said he had no choice but to respect the commission’s ruling.

“We’re going to close at 2 a.m. then,” he said. “What can we do? There is no choice now, obviously. If these people can’t sleep, they can’t sleep. What can I do?”

Iftikhar said that when he bought the pizzeria nine months ago, he had assumed he was entitled to the 3 a.m. permit given to the previous owner.

He said he was also unaware of the establishment’s long-standing conflict with the city.

“People have said I should find a lawyer, but I don’t do things like that. I have never had a lawyer in my life,” he said.

Iftikhar said his primary concern is paying the bills. He said the 2 to 3 a.m. window of time accounts for $200 to $300 of his daily business.

He said although he had hoped the recently opened Tommy’s market adjacent to the pizzeria would stay open 24 hours, he now worries that he will be forced to close by 11 or 12 p.m.

Between 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. yesterday, Iftikhar said he had only sold $30 of convenience store items.

‘This is no profit. It’s money from my pocket,” Iftikhar said. “Maybe when the other [Pakistani shawls and handmade goods] come in, something will sell. I just believe in working hard.”

—Staff writer Daniela J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.