Sign the Petition to Keep Village Pizzeria in Larchmont Open!

By Morgan Cook

October 12, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has been tough on everyone, but it's been especially tough on local businesses...

The latest local business to feel the painful effects of the pandemic is Village Pizzeria, a very popular pizzeria in Larchmont.

“This is real. This is as real as it gets,” said Steve Cohen, the owner of Village Pizzeria.

Cohen said he's tried to come to an agreement with his landlord, however he hasn't had much luck. So instead, he decided to start a petition to gather signatures in hopes of keeping the local favorite pizzeria open.

"We support and stand behind Village Pizza," the petition reads. "We urge American Commercial Equities to negotiate a fair resolution. If American Commercial Equities does not manage a deal with Village Pizza, we - the Larchmont & LA community - will boycott the property and any businesses that fill the vacancies."

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For months we’ve been struggling to keep up with the insane demands that this pandemic has brought upon us. We know a lot of you are in similar situations, struggling to pay rents and various overhead costs, as are we. We’ve tried in good faith to negotiate a fair deal with our landlord for 6 months to no avail, and unfortunately we may fall victim to what 1 in 5 small businesses have already faced- permanent closure. We know a lot of you will miss your local favorites when they’re gone, so now’s the time to take action. We really don’t know if this petition will work, in the end our landlord has final say, but we would love and truly appreciate if you could come down and show your support by signing. By the end of this year, there will be at least 30 empty stores on our beloved Larchmont... please help us not be one of them. Thank you, and pizza love to all☮️❤️🍕 #covidcasualty #swansong #smallbusiness #savesmallbusiness #savevillage #pizzalovers #laeats -Steve and the VP family/crew

A post shared by Village Pizzeria Larchmont 🍕 (@villagepizza_) on Oct 8, 2020 at 3:52pm PDT

“We have been blessed with a strong business," Cohen added. “We're facing an insurmountable challenge, but Village Pizzeria isn't facing that challenge alone."

According to other shop owners in Larchmont, even more businesses may be forced to close before the end of 2020... And there's no doubt that would drastically change the community.

"If I go, and Village Pizzeria and a couple other places go, there will be nothing left in Larchmont,” Dimitrios Houndalas, owner of Le Petit Greek, said.

Click HERE to sign the Change.org petition to save Village Pizza.

Read the full story on NBC4 Los Angeles.