Domino's and the Medford City Council have been slinging sauce at each other over late-night hours in a dispute that has all the ingredients for a good food fight.
While Domino's had previously stayed open until 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, a city code enforcement officer told the restaurant last spring that it has to close at 2 a.m.
City law requires that all businesses shut their doors at 11 p.m. unless they have a special permit. Domino's did not have a permit to stay open until 4 a.m. and was violating this local regulation.
"Domino's was operating illegally after hours," Councilor Paul Camuso said.
Local Domino's franchise owner Henry Askew said he was not aware of that regulation, but acknowledged that his restaurant violated it.
He is currently applying for extended hours but said that the council has been taking too long to reach a decision.
"I've been trying to wait patiently," Askew said. "[But] this has been a constant thing ... It's a business decision, I have to pay the bills."
Specifically, he said that sales have gone down by around 20 percent on Fridays and Saturdays without the later hours.
Camuso said that Askew's application is currently before the zoning subcommittee and that the council as a whole should reach a decision within the next few months.
Before the council told Domino's to chop off some of its hours, the restaurant had gotten away with its 4 a.m. closing time.
Askew said that he had not run into any problems until Pizza Days owner Hakki Dengizli "called in and complained" about his hours of operation. Askew also said that Dengizli is a former employee of the Domino's franchise in Medford.
Dengizli denied that he ever called to complain but said that he did bring his competitor's hours of operations to the city's attention when he was applying for his permit. He said that his only intention was to get his store the 4 a.m. closing time as well.
Askew disputed the claim that this was Dengizli's only motive.
"[He has] called the store repeatedly, screaming at us when we were open until 4 a.m.," Askew said. While Domino's may have gotten away with illegal hours in the past, Camuso said that that's not a reason to let the restaurant continue.
"If you've been speeding in your car for seven years and get caught, the fact that you've already been speeding for seven years is not a valid excuse," he said.
Meanwhile, Pizza Days has gotten a permit to stay open until 3 a.m. every day. Camuso said that the restaurant got later hours than Domino's because it is in a less residential neighborhood.
Location is one of two criteria that Camuso takes into consideration when deciding what a restaurant's hours should be. The other is its history and how law-abiding and credible its management has been.
Of the two, he said that location is the most important. "The big thing is that it always comes back to the area they're in," he said.
That's why Pranzi's, another local pizza place, is currently only allowed to stay open until 1 a.m. At 186 Winthrop St., it is "smack-dab" in the middle of a residential area, Camuso said.
Before the council reaches a final decision, it will hold a public hearing. While the council had not received many complaints about Domino's before the local government told the restaurant to restrict its hours, Camuso said that a number of residents have expressed reservations about formalizing the 4 a.m. arrangement.
"The neighbors feel that [this is] an appropriate time to have their input," he said.
Still, he said that Domino's and other restaurants can get access to late-night hours "as long as they ... do not affect the integrity of surrounding neighborhoods."
In fact, he said that having late-night options is important, especially near college campuses.
"In a city like Medford where we have a larger population of young students and residents, it's an unfortunate reality that people may be under the influence at night, and I'd rather have our establishments deliver to them instead of having them get behind the wheel when it's not appropriate," he said.
Rob Silverblatt contributed reporting to this article.
