Zoning issue forces late night staple Belmont Pizza to close earlier

Restaurant’s new dining room apparently the culprit.

August 19, 2014; 10:15 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

Fans of late night Museum District staple Belmont Pizza may have noticed the restaurant, offering both takeout and delivery, has been closing much earlier lately.

The restaurant, which once served hungry post-partygoers and night owls until 3:00 AM, has been forced to close at 11:00 PM on weeknights and midnight on weekends.

Belmont, which opened in 2010, recently added a dining room onto its space at 602 North Belmont Avenue near the Devil’s Triangle. Apparently, this new addition is the culprit due to zoning issues.

Phil Riggan of Richmond.com got to the bottom of the issue:

The problem began with the addition of the new side dining room a couple of months ago, which they cannot use due to the zoning issue, according to co-owner Sal Nuara. “The city has their rules and we’re just trying to follow them. We need to go back to the city to get the zoning fixed…we just haven’t done it yet,” he said.

Not being able to stay open late has hurt business, Nuara said. Its not just the partiers and late-nighter drinkers who want pizza after midnight, but also serve many restaurant workers who want to eat after their Saturday night shifts.

“The biggest support is from our customers,” he said of the change in hours. “We’ve even heard of people sending letters in support. Not a day goes by that someone doesn’t ask about it.”