A Neapolitan-style delivery service will open a restaurant in Gidea Park later this year.
Owner and founder of Ped’s Pizza, Matt Redgrave, single-handedly makes all of the delivery orders from his home in Hornchurch, where he lives with his wife and 17-month-old daughter.
Now, after crowdfunding £13,000 in a month, Matt will open his first restaurant on Main Road in April.
The 34-year-old said the restaurant will offer a "casual" dining experience with an industry-style interior - “something you might get in central London".
When Matt initially launched in 2017 as a street food operation, he balanced the business alongside his full-time role as a PE teacher at Davenant Foundation School in Loughton.
However, by 2019, he had quit his job to focus fully on the business.
The pandemic lockdowns forced the restaurant to become a delivery service, which Matt said has “flourished in Havering”.
Matt said the next "natural step” was to open a restaurant, where he will start with a “simple menu”.
He said: “I'm a big fan of Italian food and I like to do what Italians have always done: create simple food with quality ingredients."
Matt will fill the roles of manager and head chef at the restaurant and said he will be “employing many local people”.
He added: “It is really exciting, this was always the long-term vision and to see that dream through of one day opening a restaurant is incredible.
“I can’t thank the people of Havering enough because it’s through their support throughout the pandemic that has allowed me to build this.”
The restaurant will offer a collection service, with a delivery service introduced at a later date.
Matt said: “I’m just hoping it will be a hybrid of my roots as a street food trader and a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria.”
This comes after this newspaper gave the pizza delivery service a review in 2020.
The 34-year-old said his favourite pizza is one with a pumpkin cream base topped with mozzarella and spicy salami – he claimed it “always gets rave reviews”.
To follow the restaurant’s progress search “pedspizza” on Instagram.
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