A Gastown pizza shop owner says he’s being punished by the City of Vancouver for serving his pies past 2 a.m., but the city insists they are just asking him to obey the law.
The owner of Hot Pie Pizza on Powell Street says there’s often a line of hungry customers past 2 a.m., which prompted him to ask the city to extend his licence.
Under the current bylaw, restaurants in the area must close at 2 a.m. and bars must close at 3 a.m.
He said he never got a response, but on Saturday, city inspectors showed up and hit him with a one-day closure for breaking the bylaw.
“We lost $2,000 in business,” said owner Ahsanul Islam.
The City of Vancouver issued a statement to Global News that said there has been a long history with the owner of Hot Pie Pizza leading up to the suspension.
Read the full statement:
“The history started with the business owner signing a good neighbourhood agreement, which would have highlighted the importance 2 a.m. closings. The City and the police have both had discussions with the business owner since the fall regarding late night closings. He also received a warning letter.”
All businesses in the DTES must close at 2 am. This is because it’s a public safety issue and it assists the police with the crowds once the bars close in the area. Additionally, the City originally set the suspension for the long weekend and he asked us to delay it by one week. We accommodated the owner and agreed to make it for the following weekend… Under the circumstances, the City has been reasonable with this owner even though he has ignore the bylaw and ignore our requests for compliance.”
Islam can now appeal the suspension before city council.
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