Owner of pizza business says decision to shut restaurant and operate solely from van is ‘no-brainer’

The owner of a pizza business has said making the decision to close his Lynn restaurant and return to the truck where it all began was a “no-brainer”.

Danny Child, who set up The Pizza Slice Guy alongside his wife Lucy in 2020, has announced that the restaurant that opened on Norfolk Street last year will close at the end of this year, at which point the business will return to being solely run from the van.

Danny said there were a number of factors behind the decision, such as wanting to spend more time with his family – including his newborn son – and the increasing costs of ingredients and bills.

“I think for us, we’ve got a new baby and the time the restaurant consumes – there were lots of factors,” he told the Lynn News.

“With a restaurant, we’ve got five or six members of staff, but with a van, you’ve only got one or two.”

He added: “At the minute, I don’t really see my family from Thursday to Sunday, whereas with the van, I can spend a lot more time with them.”

In terms of costs, Danny said compared to when they started The Pizza Slice Guy three years ago, the cost of cheese has more than doubled, while the flour they use has increased by 43%.

Meanwhile, the cost of the energy bills “sometimes makes us feel like we’re working solely to pay the bills” – with one month of electric being more than £1,700.

“We’ve continued to battle the cost of living from our business point of view, but this is truly unsustainable being that we’re a small, family-run business,” Danny said.

He said the increases were “crazy” but that costs haven’t just gone up for them, but also for customers – although the price of their pizzas had only risen by 14% in the three years.

“We have enjoyed having a restaurant, but it makes sense.

“It’s quite a no-brainer to go back to just a van.”

Danny said the current plan is to open the restaurant as normal until New Year’s Eve, at which point the doors will close and The Pizza Slice Guy will just be run from the van.

“We have got quite a particular customer base who are people that are conscious of what they are eating,” he added.

“They are interested in what they are eating and have been on this pizza journey with us – as opposed to eating quick and easy.

“That’s been something that is unique to us and I think that will follow over to the van.”

The Pizza Slice Guy came about after Danny and Lucy travelled to New York in 2017 and decided they wanted to bring New York-style pizzas to customers back home – with their dream being realised when the truck started operating from various places in Lynn and West Norfolk in 2020.

Posts about their plans on social media received hundreds of reactions and dozens of supportive comments.

“We have had a tremendous response on social media – our followers are really great,” Danny said.

“We are really hoping that people will support us until we do close. We really want people to go ‘they are going and let’s enjoy them before they do’.”

The Pizza Slice Guy will continue to share dates and timings regarding where the truck will be parked up on its Facebook page and its website.

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