Pop-up pizza parlour in a planning pickle
A POP-UP pizzeria that has been getting the thumbs-up from reviewers faces the prospect of a terminal thumbs-down from city planners.
Rogue Pizza opened last month near Dublin’s Baggot Street, serving cheap pizza from the back garden of the Ballymaloe trainedchef Suzanne Taylor’s home.
It has already drawn both punters and plaudits – but appears to be in breach of planning regulations.
A search of planning records failed to turn up any change-of-use registration. Planning authorities have told the Irish Mail on Sunday that permission for a ‘change of use’ is required by anyone intending to sell food from their home.
Failure to comply with this would lead to an enforcement case and possible heavy fines.
Ms Taylor is running her business
‘I can ask them to leave – it’s my home, after all’
from a property on Fitzwilliam Square that belongs to developer Johnny Ronan, the father of her boyfriend John.
And whatever the city planners may have to say about the matter, for now at least the place is getting rave reviews.
Lifestyle website Lovindublin said the ‘secret’ hipster pizza spot, which has a Twitter and Instagram account, and a Facebook page, was changing the face of the capital’s restaurant scene.
The pop-up was opened on a shoestring budget and in defiance of Dublin’s soaring rents and crusty landlords, according to the article by Niall Harbinson.
However, Rogue may well be skirting planning requirements. In the article, Ms Taylor talks about running the pizza joint from her home and says: ‘Most people will stop in Toner’s pub, which is on the corner, and I’ll be able to gently ask them to leave and go back there at 11. It is my home after all.’
Her description of the property from which the food business is being run as ‘my home’ appears to place it in breach of planning regulations. Speaking to the MoS this weekend, she said: ‘It’s just a popup restaurant, so we don’t need planning permission. We are just trialling the menu.’
However, despite this claim, she is charging customers €10-15 for her pizzas.
Furthermore, a pop up – in other words temporary – restaurant or business still has to comply with all relevant legislation. In most cases, pop-up businesses fill vacant commercial units for a short period. However, in those instances, the vacant unit is already zoned for commercial use.
Crucially, pop-up restaurants would also need to change use from a simple commercial premises, as the regulation of food businesses is among the most stringent.
Even if the restaurant is a pop-up or occupies a small part of a residence, permission to change the use of the building is always required, according to the city planners.
A number of other regulatory requirements must also be met, including registration with the local Environmental Health Office for food-safety purposes.