11/15/09 Le Figaro Bistro de Paris restaurant owner has trouble with his new restaurant

Restaurateur faces troubles with zoning board, landlord

A noted Greenwich restaurateur who was one of the producers for the "Ali" movie starring Will Smith has been ordered by the town not to do any more work on his new restaurant.

And Paul Ardaji, 61, is facing eviction by the owner of 33 Lewis St., for non-payment of rent.
"I can't believe the troubles with this, it's much worse than when I produced the Muhummad Ali movie," Ardaji said Friday.

The town contends he has been making changes to the property that he wants to be the home of a new restaurant called Toscano's.

But at the Planning and Zoning Commission said he has continued to make changes to the building such as painting the exterior, installing windows and changing the parking lot, all without seeking approval from the town.

But Ardaji told told the commission at its Tuesday meeting that he had all of those approvals from the town.........

......Ardaji, who runs Le Figaro Bistro de Paris restaurant at 372 Greenwich Ave., complained to the commission about the state of the building when he first entered it.

"To say that it was a derelict building was an understatement," he said.

However, commission chairman Donald Heller, said the first step he needed to make was to respond to Fox's letter.

Ardaji agreed he would respond to the letter.

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