Virginia County Forces Local Pizzeria to Paint Over Pizza Mural

Government regulatory overreach has become an increasing hassle and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight. Many people now sadly joke about the Regulatory Branch of the government (although, it’s not really a joke since we now basically have an unconstitutional fourth branch of the government). However, some government regulatory overreach is so absurd as to be an unintentionally satirical call for conservatism. Arlington County, Va., is finding itself the butt of jokes and is suffering a local PR nightmare as D.C. area residents mock the county’s decision to force a local pizzeria to paint over the pizza mural on its walls.

Goody’s is a beloved pizza restaurant located in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington. It’s small, quaint, and locally owned. It’s also been praised for supporting local artists. After the ownership changed hands, the new owners commissioned artists to adorn the outside walls with a mural of delicious pizza and other food offerings on top of an Italian flag. It was done tastefully and, frankly, was a fun addition to an otherwise drab commercial area lacking in personality. The county, however, decided to step in and force the restaurant to paint over the mural.

According to local news organization ARLnow, “The county’s planning department warned the Clarendon staple that Arlington’s zoning ordinance requires permits for artwork that ‘relates to the advertisement of a business and its services’ and that without a permit they’d be forced to paint over the mural.”

The owners complied, but, to their credit and the delight of many, Goody’s is now sporting a horrendous green and red paint job that has turned Arlington County and their idiotic regulation into a laughingstock. One Twitter user quipped, “Goody’s was like ‘Hey @ArlingtonVA, I see your heavy handed regulation, and raise you an eye-sore paint job that is fully compliant.'”

Goody's was like "Hey @ArlingtonVA, I see your heavy handed regulation, and raise you an eye-sore paint job that is fully compliant."

Thanks @ArlingtonVA, now we get to see this every day!

— Josh Roll (@JoshRoll) March 15, 2019

Wanting in on the fun, I tweeted, “I sleep better at night knowing that Arlington County is protecting its citizens from the dangerous folk at Goody’s.”

https://twitter.com/adayinhiscourt/status/1106628389274832897

If you’re visiting the D.C. area, the restaurant is on the other side of the street from the Clarendon metro stop on the Orange Line. Stop in, grab a slice of pizza, and enjoy the restaurant’s colorful poke in the eye of Arlington County’s nonsensical regulations.