Mian Iftikhar’s six-month battle with the Cambridge License Commission ended yesterday, when the commission voted for Tommy’s House of Pizza’s closing time to remain at 2 a.m.

The city changed the pizzeria’s closing time from 3 to 2 a.m. last spring in response to noise complaints from the eatery’s neighbor.

Iftikhar, who said his sales are down about 15 percent as a result, made a last-ditch effort to reinstate the later closing time at a hearing Tuesday night.

“I’m not surprised,” Iftikhar said yesterday when he learned of the commission’s decision. “I had just a very faint hope they would consider what I said.”

At last Tuesday’s hearing, three Cambridge residents spoke against the pizzeria, complaining about late-night noise and drunken patrons.

“It’s been a longstanding problem,” said Richard Scali, the commission’s executive officer. “The previous owner also had a problem with the closing hour. When the new gentleman came in, we had the chance to reconsider the closing time.”

According to 40 Bow St. resident Genevieve McMillan, who initiated the complaints against the eatery, customers regularly yell and even throw food at her car.

With the late-night institution threatened, students circulated an e-mail on at least two House lists Wednesday night asking Tommy’s patrons to call the License Commission and lobby for later hours.

Between 8:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. yesterday, about 80 loyal customers left voicemail messages for members of the License Commission, Scali said, adding that he even received a fax in support of the pizzeria from a Harvard Street resident.

“Technically, anything that comes in after the hearing is not evidence, but the commissioners were advised of the calls and the fax,” Scali said.

C. Jonathan Gattman ’03 was one of the 80 pizzeria patrons to leave a message for the commission Wednesday night.

“I feel that Tommy’s is a very important part of undergraduate life. I go there after I’ve been out late at night, to see people and to cool down,” Gattman said. “It’s rather silly that three Cambridge residents have been able to outvoice several thousand Harvard students.”

Iftikhar said he appreciated the students’ support—and hopes it will translate to better sales at an earlier hour.

Although he used to allow hungry customers to remain in the pizzeria past closing time, all patrons will now have to leave by 2 a.m. Scali said the city’s chief license investigator, Andrea Boyer, will conduct unannounced monitoring visits to the establishment to make sure the doors are closed on time.

Scali said the closing time would only be reconsidered if McMillan and the Harvard Square Defense Fund return to the License Commission to say noise outside the pizzeria has decreased.