Owner of Giorgio's Pizza, Waterlooville, confirms when new takeaway will open in Portsmouth as they expand to 'perfect place at the right time'

Family run Giorgio’s Pizza is bolstering its restaurant and takeaway, in London Road, by opening a new outlet in Hilsea.

Co-owner George Goodrham, who works with his dad Richard, and mum, Emma, said he couldn’t wait to get started.

The 26-year-old told The News: ‘We’ve always been looking to expand.

‘That was the intention from day one, we didn’t want to just be a single store in Waterlooville.

‘We saw Portsmouth as a massive market and there are so many good opportunities down here.

‘The unit became available, and it was the perfect place at the right time, so we went for it.’

Giorgio’s originally opened in March 2018, and enlarged by moving into the outlet next door in November last year.

The delivery part of the business became centre stage, as Covid-19 restricted in house dining and customer hesitancy as recently as December 2021.

Mr Goodrham said the change has gone better than they expected.

‘It has become a larger part of the business than we first thought,’ he added.

‘We launched the delivery service before Covid, and the pandemic pushed it on.

‘Now, that is the gap we’re looking to plug in Portsmouth.’

The co-owner said he is confident they can fill a gap in the market for high quality pizza delivery at a big volume.

Mr Goodrham has avoided using third party delivery apps, such as Deliveroo, because of the ‘huge’ 30 per cent commission and other factors.

‘We’re more than busy enough without having to go on one of these third party aggregators,’ he said.

The cost of living crisis lead to Giorgio’s increasing their prices, but has remained popular.

SEE ALSO: Cost of living crisis: Portsmouth fish and chip shops feel sting of 'ridiculous' prices as 'a third' are mooted to close in the UK

Its new outlet in London Road, Portsmouth, is expected to open in early August – for collection only.

An house delivery service is expected at the end of that month, and Mr Goodrham said is confident it will succeed.

‘It’s the biggest step since originally opening the business,’ Mr Goodrham said.

‘It’s huge for us.

‘We’re really looking forward to coming down here and serving the people of Hilsea, then after that, we’ll look for further expansion to south Portsmouth, so they don’t miss out.’