Bostonians' unquenchable hunger for late-night pizza gets three pizza places in trouble

But the result could be formal requests for later hours for pizza places in the Fenway and in Brighton - as late as 3 a.m. for the Brighton Domino's.

University House of Pizza in the Fenway and Papa John's and Domino's in Brighton all had to explain this morning why they were open way past their licensed closing times at a hearing before the Boston Licensing Board.

Detectives from the BPD licensing unit found University House of Pizza, 452 Huntington Ave., open at 2:27 a.m. on May 4 - nearly 90 minutes past its licensed 1 a.m. closing time. The next night, detectives found Papa John's, 533 Washington St., open 30 minutes past its 1 a.m. closing time and Domino's, 464 Washington St., open almost three hours past its 11 p.m. closing time.

The owners of University House of Pizza and Papa John's apologized for the over-extended hours and said they were simply beset by students, bar flies and other night owls coming in looking for cheesy comestibles. A representative of Domino's also apologized and said the problem was that a manager in training thought that Domino's was like many other Domino's in the area and licensed to stay open until 3 a.m. to prepare orders for delivery.

All three pizza places said they will seek license changes to allow them to stay open later - 2 a.m. for University House of Pizza and Papa John's and 3 a.m. for delivery for the Domino's. The Allston Domino's is already licensed for deliveries up to 3 a.m.

The changes will require meetings with local neighborhood groups and hearings before the licensing board.

Board Chairwoman Nicole Murati Ferrer expressed sympathy for the restaurants but said they can't keep doing this. She said she was particularly disappointed in Domino's, in part because three hours is way excessive.

The board decides Thursday what penalties, if any, to levy.