''We would like to thank all our customers for their support" - Chichester pizza restaurant suddenly closed after barely a year in the city

The eatery, best known for its craft beers and sourdough pizza bases, opened last year, and now appears to have gone bust.

A sign in the restaurant window announced its closure and thanked customers for their support over the months, although the Three Joes website continues to list the Chichester restaurant as an active location.

Although not in town for very long, and with stiff competition from the likes of Franco Manca and Pizza Express in the area, Three Joes Pizza seemed to have carved out a healthy niche for itself in the city centre, with plenty of positive reviewers.

One guest, on Tripadvisor, said Three Joes was one of the best pizza places in town: “Lovely pizza, best in town for sure! Feels fresh! Staff is amazing and helpful!”

Another said much the same thing, adding: “I visited Three Joes 4 times since they opened their doors in June (that says a lot coming from someone who doesn’t like Pizza) and I have never been able to fault them. Not only the staff are absolutely lovely and will do their upmost to help with whatever you want, but food is always fresh and hot (and delivered quickly).”

Other reviews suggest the quality had dropped off somewhat in recent months, however, with one customer saying: “How can a place crash so badly, all the cool friendly staff, gone, atmosphere, gone, service gone, standard of food gone, customers gone, populated but a bunch on disinterested staff, slow service, just off hand could not care less attitude, such a great shame.”

The closure comes alongside news that the restaurant’s Fareham branch is also closing, with one kitchen supervisor telling The Portsmouth News that the news came out of the blue: “I’ve got future plans and I’m a university student - working alongside A spokesperson for Three Joes Chichester confirmed that the restaurant has now permanently closed “with immediate effect,” but could not provide any further comment.

The news comes less than a week after Wildwood, which sat opposite Three Joes, also closed its doors for the last time.