Tommy’s Faces License Battle

Tommy’s House of Pizza may soon face punishment—and possibly the loss of its license to operate—for repeatedly staying open too late, according to Cambridge officials.

The Cambridge License Commission will notify Tommy’s owner Gurcharan S. Gill by the end of the month that he is to appear at a disciplinary hearing on Sept. 3 for violations of the conditions of his license, said Richard Scali, the commission’s executive officer.

An investigator from the commission found Tommy’s open past its 2 a.m. city-mandated closing time twice this spring, and issued a warning on each occasion.

But last month, when it found that Tommy’s had violated the conditions of its license for a third time, the commission decided to take action.

Gill could face cancellation, suspension or the addition of further conditions to his licence, Scali said.

Several Harvard students said they have often in the last few months been pleasantly surprised to find Tommy’s open a little—and sometimes a lot—past the 2 a.m. closing time that is supposed to be in place. The pizzeria’s previous 3 a.m. closing time was revoked last October, following complaints initiated by Bow Street neighbor Genevieve McMillan.

“I remember going at 2 a.m. this spring, not expecting to be able to get anything, but they were still open,” said Mark A. Hiller ’05.

Others hadn’t realized the closing time had been made earlier.

“I thought they’ve always been open later than 2 a.m.,” said Mary Ellen W. Hammond ’03, who said she has been to Tommy’s well after 2 a.m. a few times this summer.

When told that students had found Tommy’s open this summer in the 3 a.m. range and that he would be up for a disciplinary hearing, Gill said he was surprised.

“I told [the workers] to close after two,” he said. “I will let them know not to stay open, because I don’t want my license suspended.”

But Gill also said that he couldn’t help it if Tommy’s was open late on the weekends.

“On the weekends, everyone is drunk and we don’t want to have trouble,” he said, explaining that it is often difficult to get customers to leave.

According to Gill, the 2 a.m. closing time is theoretically maintained during the week.

“We just stay open for people who are still inside [at closing time], because we can’t push them out,” he said. “But we don’t let anyone else in.”

Gill said he and his lawyer are going to try again to have their closing hours extended in September, which will mark six months since he bought Tommy’s.

He said neighbors should have less cause for noise complaints now that he has late hours better staffed, which keeps large numbers of customers from becoming impatient and rowdy.

Tommy’s previous owner, Mian Iftikhar, had sold Tommy’s to Gill this March because of the loss in profits he suffered when the closing time changed. He said the change lost him 15 to 20 percent of his daily sales.

Iftikhar said when he bought the pizzeria in February 2001, he had assumed he was entitled to the 3 a.m. permit given to the previous owner.

But Gill bought the restaurant with the 2 a.m. closing time set, and didn’t seem to have any qualms about the conditions of his license.

“[Tommy’s is] near Harvard, it’s on the main street—sales and business should be great,” he said shortly after buying the pizzeria.

Originally from the Indian state of Punjab, Gill has been living in Boston for 20 years.

He previously owned a Hancock Street restaurant called New England Daily, New York Style.

—Staff writer Eugenia B. Schraa can be reached at schraa@fas.harvard.edu.