A PIZZA restaurant boss says business is booming after opening at the start of the month.

Dough & Co opened on Halstead High Street on October 7, and bosses say it’s been a big hit with food fans.

After a “bumpy” start, the restaurant says it’s ready to kick on from a successful first month of business.

The business specialises in wood-fired Italian pizza and also has branches in Sudbury, Colchester and Bishop’s Stortford.

Owner Chris Sharman first opened the business just over two-and-a-half years ago serving out of a vintage horse box.

He has been in the industry for 14 years and cut his teeth in the fine dining industry, working in Michelin star restaurants alongside culinary legends such as Marco Pierre White.

The Halstead branch was opened after the Sudbury restaurant saw high demand for its delivery service from the Halstead area.

Mr Sharman opened his new restaurant in the former Baldwins store opposite Sainsbury’s.

The building received an extensive makeover with a complete overhaul of the interior.

Since the restaurant opened, Mr Sharman says it has been a big success and popular with pizza lovers.

But it was almost the victim of its own success at first.

The hotly anticipated restaurant struggled to cope with the early demand, said Mr Sharman. “The opening of Dough & Co Halstead was extremely busy – it was a success, albeit somewhat bumpy in the first two weeks with teething issues,” he said.

“On the first weekends we were completely swamped – we did not expect it to be so busy.

“However it has now been a month and it’s still very busy but the teething issues are now very nearly ironed out.

“We would like to thank the people of Halstead and the surrounding areas for their support and we will continue to listen to feedback to further improve our service.”

The Gazette is backing businesses as part of our Love Local Business campaign which is sponsored by A-Plan, FJG and LKA.