One of York’s five-star rated restaurants has closed with immediate effect.
Dough Eyed Pizza on Jubbergate has shut after its owner decided to move on after growing weary of the many storms which have hit hospitality.
The bar and pizzeria, which has a 5/5 rating on TripAdvisor, closed yesterday (Sunday) – exactly three years ago to the day since it opened, on 16 July 2020.
It was still trading profitably, and owner Chris Phillips is now looking for a buyer for the business.
Chris told YorkMix: “It’s something I’ve been considering and come close to doing many times over the past year or so.
“The money you get out for the effort you have to put in is just not worth it.
“I lost a head chef. We have a young family with three children between us and it’s just not desirable to step back into the kitchen and do 50 hours a week anymore.
“I’m not from a hospitality background. I kind of fell into it and I enjoyed it at first but the unsociable hours are not for me and trying to get staff to run it how I would run it is near impossible.
“We have had some great staff by the way but trying to communicate your vision to them is difficult but this is possibly my downfall rather than theirs.
“I was a pizza geek who turned a hobby into a job and I had some great time but I likely should have left it as a hobby.”
Another business
Having said that, Chris has got another pizza business out of his passion.
“I have other ventures I’ve built over the past few years. I have a couple of e-commerce sites that are doing well,” he said.
“I want to concentrate my efforts on our pizzeria and bakery equipment sales.
“We’ve really boosted the profile of Sunmix mixers in the UK over the past few years with some big names such as Pizza Pilgrims, Gino D’Acampo and Piccolino using them in their restaurants.
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“We have our mixers in approx 15 or Pizza Pilgrims branches now and we’re putting them in the remaining branches as their previous mixers break.
“I plan on expanding my e-commerce stores further as I can fit this into family life much easier.”
In a social media statement, Chris said: “Regretfully yesterday was our final day. Dough Eyed is closed with immediate effect.
“I’ve had some massive highs and some huge lows and it’s been a rollercoaster of a ride for sure.
“We’ve served some cracking pizza and had some good times with some amazing staff and customers and plenty of cute doggies.
“However the time has come for me to go off and do something else.”
‘Absolutely gutted’
Dough Eyed Pizza was one of the original food stalls when Spark York opened in 2018.
It then operated a pop-up at the Pig & Pastry on Bishopthorpe Road, a pizzeria at Piglets Adventure Farm, spots in both the Crooked Tap and Fox pubs, and a residency at Micklegate Social.
Then it opened on Jubbergate.
Shocked regulars responded with dismay at the sudden closure.
One said: “Absolutely gutted. I’m not a local, but your pizza’s really are some of the best I’ve ever tasted.”
Another said they had always called in ever since getting a taste for Dough Eyed pizzas when they were delivered during lockdown.
And a third said simply: “This is the worst news of the year!”
In his statement, Chris said he was looking for buyers for the business.
He said: “Current business was making £2-£3k profit a week over summer fully staffed. An owner operator could take £4-£5k a week over summer and maybe £1-£2k through winter.
“Get in touch if you’re interested in the business or lease: hi@dougheyed.uk.”
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