Pizza Autentica may soon join the ranks of other local eateries that serve beer and wine in a casual restaurant setting.
The joint is slated to open next month in the University View II, and Pizza Autentica owner Hakan Ilhan said he hopes to obtain a beer and wine license from the county — and join the ranks of other downtown pizzerias permitted to serve alcoholic beverages.
Ilhan appeared in front of the city council at a work session last week for approval to obtain a beer and wine license and faced little opposition. For his request to be official, he’ll need to go before the Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners on July 26.
Although the restaurant may remain open until 2 a.m., its primary purpose is to sell pizza and pasta — not to serve rowdy bar patrons, Ilhan said. The early-morning operating hours are primarily for students still up studying, he said.
“We don’t really want to have problem customers from the bar,” Ilhan said, noting that the newly constructed Looney’s Pub will be located a short walk away in the Varsity. “Usually that kind of crowd brings trouble more than anything.”
The council swiftly approved a property use agreement for Ilhan at its Tuesday meeting, stipulating the store’s alcohol to food ratio must be 35-to-65.
Despite Ilhan’s commitment to adhere to city regulations, University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky said that serving alcohol near minors is still a cause for concern.
“If you throw alcohol into the mix, there’s always potential for problems,” Limansky said. “If they follow the rules and follow proper procedures, like checking IDs, I think they could run a good establishment.”
Cashiers will card at the register — and managers will card at individual tables, if necessary — to ensure that of-age patrons aren’t illegally sharing their alcoholic beverages with minors, Ilhan said. Customers will also be monitored with security cameras.
Some students, like junior government and politics major Liza Jones, said the convenient location will be a draw for students.
“You can just go down for a beer; you don’t have to go out to ‘go out,'” she said. “This is more where people live. I think it just depends on the atmosphere and how people come home from downtown and Route 1, instead of going out for a purpose.”
Since the View and the View II both house many Freshman Connection students and the campus is a short walk from the pizzeria, District 2 councilman Jack Perry said Ilhan will need to be wary of underage patrons.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Perry said to Ilhan at a July 5 meeting. “The location you have selected is going to be very much of a challenge.”
Yet placing a store just an elevator ride away from a large number of students was a strategic business move, Perry added.
Though Ilhan anticipates alcohol to account for 10 percent of his sales, he said his store will strictly remain a restaurant that sells beer and wine.
“If you really want to get drunk, a pizza place is not where you go to get drunk,” Ilhan said.
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