Town council allows hard liquor at pizza restaurant

By Gloria I. Wang

For the second time in recent weeks, the Los Gatos Town Council approved a local eatery's request for a fully stocked bar. Following on the heels of the Los Gatos Brewing Company, Willow Street Wood Fired Pizza on S. Santa Cruz Avenue was given permission to upgrade its license from beer and wine only, to full liquor service.

The April 16 Willow Street hearing was peppered with references to the town's approval of a similar application from the Brewing Company that involved similar circumstances. Requests for a change to a full bar from Willow Street and the Brewing Company had been denied by the planning commission, and both had appealed to the town council.

In their applications, the two restaurants cited that offering cocktails was necessary to remain competitive with other eating and drinking establishments. The restaurants also presented patrons who voiced their support for the change. The Brewing Company received town approval for full alcohol service on March 5.

"Due process and basic fairness demands that the rules be enforced uniformly," Glenn Thompson, a Willow Street partner, said. "It is the right thing to do based upon the law, and it is the fair thing to do based upon the town's recent unanimous decision in favor of the Brewing Company."

Neighboring business owners and customers urged town council to approve the application. Steve Mirassou, a frequent customer who is in the wine business, testified that wine sales have decreased "dramatically" in the past five or six years. Mirassou said that he sees a trend in drinking cocktails, instead of beer or wine.

"We're finding that a lot of the family-style restaurants, in order to remain competitive in their arenas, are going to a hard-liquor license to satisfy the majority of their consumers," Mirassou said. "In general, when there're four or six adults and some kids, invariably there are people today that would like to have a cocktail."

Councilman Steve Glickman pointed out that the "constant reference" to the Brewing Company should be a reminder to town council "that what we do sets tone, sets precedence, sends signals to people."

The April 16 vote was 3-2, with Council Members Sandy Decker and Randy Attaway voting no. Attaway said that he grouped Willow Street in the same category as Round Table Pizza and Thunderbirds. "I don't believe that we should be selling martinis and hard liquor at Round Table Pizza," Attaway said.

"I see Willow Street as about the only large family restaurant that we have right now," Decker said. For that reason, Decker said she wanted to re-examine the policy before anything else was approved.

In response to Attaway's comment, Mayor Joe Pirzynski said that there were marked differences between Round Table and Willow Street. "Because the word 'pizza' is in the name of the restaurant doesn't necessarily relegate it to that category of restaurant," Pirzynski said.

The Los Gatos Willow Street is part of a chain, with a handful of locations in the county. The Los Gatos location has been in operation for seven years.

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