Rachel Mak, Photography Editor
Bobbi’s, a new pizza place opening soon on Broadway, was granted special permission to sell alcohol from New Haven’s zoning board at its monthly meeting on Tuesday evening.
The decision for the Yale property occupant clears another hurdle in the path to opening the restaurant for its owner, Ankit Chellani. Chellani also owns and operates the Indian restaurant Sherkaan, a few hundred yards north on Broadway.
“There’s a new square coming to New Haven,” Bobbi’s website says. The restaurant bills itself as selling “Detroit-ish” style pizzas.
Bobbi’s will seek to distinguish itself as a thick-crust, rectangular-style pizza restaurant in a city well known for its thin, wood-fired “apizza.”
Bobbi’s was represented at the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting by land use attorney Ben Trachten, who formerly served as the board’s chair. Trachten handled six different cases before the board Tuesday evening, speaking via Zoom to the group at City Hall. Chellani was not present at the meeting.
Even though his client was applying for a full liquor license, the restaurant would only sell certain types of alcoholic beverages, Trachten said.
“It would just be bottled cocktails,” Trachten said. “The applicant will not sell any hard alcohol above an ABV of 10 percent,” he added, referring to alcohol by volume.
The storefront at 51 Broadway had previously been inhabited by Salsa Fresca and Broadway Kitchen. It was acquired by Yale in 2023.
Trachten also provided more details on both the business’s timeline and specific nature.
“It’s already built up, ready to go,” Trachten stated. “The business will primarily be focused on takeout pizza.”
As a part of its exception to the standard zoning rules, Bobbi’s agreed to stay open no later than 11 p.m. and to host no live entertainment.
There was no public opposition to the exception, which the Board of Zoning Appeals granted unanimously.
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NICOLAS CIMINIELLO
Nicolas Ciminiello covers businesses, unions and the economy. From Easton, CT, he is a junior in Murray College majoring in ethics, politics and economics.
