In an effort to avoid a license suspension, Tutto Pasta threatened to sue the city of Madison Wednesday.
Tutto Pasta boycotted a Vending Oversight Committee hearing concerning the potential suspension of their sidewalk café license.
City officials warned the King Street Tutto Pasta owners repeatedly that their sidewalk café extended farther onto the sidewalk than their license allowed.
“They are only allowed one row of tables and chairs,” said V.O.C. member Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
This summer Tutto’s owners received a citation, but in August, the owners and the Vending Oversight Committee came to an agreement that Tutto Pasta would serve a voluntary 10-day suspension of its sidewalk café.
If Tutto Pasta received any further violations before April 15, 2004 they agreed to appear for a hearing before the committee. It was then possible that Tutto Pasta could get a suspension of up to 30 days for the sidewalk café.
Right before Tutto Pasta was set to start the voluntary suspension, they received another citation.
On Wednesday, before the scheduled hearing regarding the most recent violation, Tutto Pasta filed suit against the city of Madison.
“All [the suit] is is a large stack of papers in an attempt to get their hearing postponed,” said Lara Mainella, assistant city attorney. “And it worked.”
The suit was then dropped, pending suspension of Tutto Pasta’s hearing until a later date.
“We did not have the procedures for a license suspension and revocation hearing set in advance of tonight’s meeting,” Verveer explained.
The lack of hearing rules was one of the reasons behind Tutto’s lawsuit.
A hearing of this type has never been administered by the committee.
On Wednesday, in place of the hearing, the committee set the guidelines by which it would handle proceedings on the topic of license suspension.
Tutto Pasta’s new hearing was set by the council for Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.
Also on the agenda in October is the possible license suspension or revocation hearing for Gin’s Chicken and Fish because of complaints regarding noise and litter.
“Gin’s has been accused of not being a good neighbor,” said committee member Ald. Austin King, District 8.
