When Real Varela, a Catholic Italian, set up a pizza eatery in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles, he decided to go kosher.

It made business sense, he figured, because he’d have the only authentic product between Robertson Boulevard and Doheny Drive on Pico Boulevard. Varela learned about Judaism and applied to the Rabbinical Council of California, one of the handful of agencies that certifies kosher restaurants. He hired a mashgiah, one of the council’s supervisors who make sure the methods and ingredients are kosher, as mandated by kosher standards. That’s when the trouble started.

As to whether it’s a case of cultures or just personalities clashing depends on whose story you put your faith in.

“I’d told them not to send over anyone else who didn’t speak English,” said Varela. He had problems with several supervisors sent to his store by Rabbi Yaakov Vann of the Rabbinical Council, particularly the last one.

“This guy really took the cake,” said Varela, who claims that the mashgiah parked in customer-only zones, fell asleep in the middle of the restaurant and took money from the tip jar.

“There are always two sides to a story,” the rabbi said. “They each complained about the other and I let them work things out amongst themselves. In hindsight, I should have separated them immediately.”

When Varela fired the supervisor, who could not be reached for comment, both registered complaints with the council. The mashgiah left the council. Vann said he offered Varela several alternatives.

“He needed someone young, who was interested in the food industry, who knew the community and could help him sell,” Vann said.

The catch was that Varela would have to pay more. Vann had been sending over his lowest-paid workers.

“I’d been paying $10 an hour for someone to do nothing all day,” Varela said. “And now they wanted me to pay $15 for someone to do nothing?”

Vann, whose association accredits about 60 local restaurants and hotels, and employs more than 30 supervisors, said Varela’s problems eventually weren’t worth the effort.

“After awhile, a couple of places will stand out like sore thumbs,” Vann said. “And you ask, why am I doing this to myself?”

Varela’s business was dark for two months. Finally, he decided to forgo kosher and run a traditional pizza place.

“My business is up 300 to 400 percent,” Varela claims. Since he no longer observes the Jewish Sabbath and stays open between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, he takes advantage of the busiest nights of the week.

“I’m the only non-kosher restaurant on the street, so I get all the business,” he said.

His profit margins are also better, Varela said, since he no longer has to buy kosher cheese, saving about $2.40 per pound. His pizzas now feature meatballs and pepperoni, too. Varela still keeps some kosher cheese and vegetarian meatballs on hand, just in case. But he’s done trying to go kosher.

“It was kind of like trying to move a dinosaur,” he said.

Vann said he still doesn’t believe there is any truth to Varela’s complaints about theft, but clearly both parties felt injured.

“They both decided to leave us,” he said.