There are plenty of pizza parlors in Berkeley, but one particular Southside establishment has decided to expand its menu in order to appeal to more customers who are looking to enjoy their pizza with a beer.
Since opening last March, Pepe’s Pizza — located at 2516 Durant Ave. — has been disappointed in the way business has been going, which prompted them to apply for a beer and wine permit last week, said Pepe’s manager Guduru Rabi. Several customers have suggested the restaurant serve alcohol along with its pizza buffet.
“We’ve wanted to sell beer from the beginning, but the possible consequences of being so close to campus made us want to try without it,” Rabi said.
Pepe’s already has a permit for live music, which Rabi said they hope to begin featuring once the alcohol license has been approved. The pizza parlor currently stays open until 11 p.m., though Rabi said he is not sure if the restaurant will extend its hours after receiving the permit.
“This should improve our business because just pizza is not working out at the moment,” Rabi said. “We’ve had a lot of requests for beer (from customers).”
Telegraph Business Improvement District Executive Director Roland Peterson pointed out that restaurants on and around Telegraph Avenue are not just competing with each other, but with restaurants throughout Berkeley.
“It’s very difficult for restaurants without alcohol licenses to compete with those who have it,” Peterson said. “It’s often the difference between being successful and being unsuccessful.”
Peterson said there are probably about 30 businesses with alcohol licenses in the Telegraph area — that includes restaurants that serve beer and wine as well as establishments that offer hard liquor.
Most recently, Caffe Mediterraneum owner Craig Becker applied for a beer and wine license at his Telegraph cafe after obtaining a permit this summer to remain open 24 hours a day.
The process of obtaining an alcohol permit became easier in July 2009 when the Berkeley City Council decided that a public hearing is no longer required for full-service restaurants, defined as those with payment eating and table service — a restriction which lengthened the process.
Although Rabi said Pepe’s expects the permit application process to take around two to four months, Councilmember Kriss Worthington said the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control may be backlogged at the moment due to budget cuts, increasing the length of time businesses must wait to be approved.
Worthington said the more restaurants with alcohol licenses, the better business will be in the long run, potentially providing safer drinking options for UC Berkeley students as well.
“There’s a very different impact when someone is having a drink with a meal rather than going out with the intention to get drunk,” Worthington said.
Adelyn Baxter covers city government.
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make your cardboard tasting pizza’s 5 bucks and maybe you’re business will pick up!
The pizza they serve there tastes like cardboard. Makes sense to serve alcohol because when you’re drunk you might not notice how bad it really is.
But seriously, this place has a 2.5 star rating on Yelp… How long before it follows the same path as the previous Japanese/Karoke place that was open before it?