Three weeks after the opening of Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, neighbors are voicing concerns about the noise generated by the restaurant.

“We were all looking forward to things being quiet here after construction was finished,” said Gary Galbreath, who lives on the 1800 block of Sherman Ave., near the restaurant. “I’m standing in my own apartment by one of my major windows and it sounds like a construction (site).”

Residents also raised concerns in January 2002, before Lou Malnati’s owners had even purchased the site at 1850 Sherman. According to Galbreath, a biological sciences lecturer at Northwestern, residents’ fears have been realized.

Galbreath, who has lived at the Sherman Gardens complex since 1995, said he never was bothered by noise when Yesterday’s restaurant occupied the same space as Lou Malnati’s.

About 15 residents have raised concerns about the noise, which he said is caused by the restaurant’s cooling and ventilation systems, which are not insulated or soundproof. Galbreath said he thinks many of the residents in the 132-unit complex have been directly inconvenienced by the noise.

“Almost everyone here is concerned about this,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of very noisy mechanical equipment just yards from windows.”

Galbreath said he and other residents have been in contact with city building inspectors over the last two weeks and have discussed the problem with Ald. Arthur Newman (1st). Complaints also have been sent to Lou Malnati’s corporate offices.

“We’re all hoping we can settle this quickly without too much grief,” he said.

Dawn Schultz, a marketing assistant for Lou Malnati’s, said the restaurant’s owners have been in contact with the “handful” of Sherman residents who have complained and they are trying to find a solution. But she said the whole situation has been “blown out of proportion.”

“We’re new and obviously we do attract a lot of patrons, especially on busy Friday and Saturday nights,” she said, adding that the residents have grown accustomed to not having a restaurant in their midst.

“There was about a year and a half of silence and then we came in there with building and hammering and banging,” she said.

Schultz said the restaurant does not generate a lot of noise because it is a smaller venue with only 12 tables and room to accommodate 60 to 70 people, including employees.

Still, she said Lou Malnati’s owners want to resolve the situation.

“We want to see what is it we can do to accommodate the residents,” Schultz said.

Galbreath said the solution is for the restaurant’s owners to expend the time and money to properly insulate their ventilation and cooling systems.

“The machinery they are using to suck air up these things is much much noisier,” he said. “I do see it as primarily a matter of if they are willing to spend enough money to be good neighbors.”