Pizzeria allowed larger slice of Academy Road

A River Heights couple has lost its fight against an extra-large pizzeria.

City council's appeals committee voted Thursday to reject an appeal against a Board of Adjustment decision to allow Academy Road's Pizzeria Gusto to expand into a storefront in the same building it already occupies.

The restaurant had to apply for permission to expand because the total amount of space it plans to occupy is 2,856 square feet — more than 350 square feet over the usual limit for a restaurant on this stretch of Academy Road.

Nearby residents Margaret and Murray Derraugh opposed the expansion on the basis it will exacerbate parking problems in their neighbourhood.

Couns. Mike Pagtakhan (Point Douglas), Russ Wyatt (Transcona), Ross Eadie (Mynarski) and Jason Schreyer (Elmwood-East Kildonan) voted unanimously to quash the appeal.

Wyatt said he appreciated the concerns about parking, but said no single business is responsible for bringing traffic to a commercial stretch of Academy Road. Wyatt also commended Gusto proprietor Bobby Mottola for investing in Winnipeg.

Pizzeria Gusto was also the subject of an appeal in 2009, when a larger group of residents opposed its patio. In that case, councillors not only squashed the appeal, but chastised residents for opposing infill development and allowed the restaurant patio to be open later into the evening than Mottola requested.