Award-winning Morecambe pizza restaurant to close

An award-winning pizza restaurant in Morecambe town centre will be closing its doors next month.

Miaitalia on Queen Street will shut after more than 12 years in business, announced owner David Waddington.

Miaitalia opened in Hawthorne House, on the Byepass Road at Bolton-le-Sands, in 2013.

The restaurant won Best Pizzeria at the national Italian Awards in 2016, then followed this up by winning Best Italian Establishment at the 2019 Food Awards England.

In 2022, Miaitalia moved to its current home on Queen Street in Morecambe.

Mr Waddington said that another independent food operator would be taking on the premises, with more details to be announced soon.

"After more than 12 years, including nine in Bolton-le-Sands and three in Morecambe, we have taken the decision to close Miaitalia," said Mr Waddington, who opened the business alongside his wife Katy (below). He also runs two Miogelato gelato parlour and coffee shops in Morecambe and Lancaster.

"This incredibly difficult decision is due to a combination of factors - economic of course, but also from a ‘what’s best for us’ persepective.

"It has been a very significant part of mine and Katy’s life, and we’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in those years.

"Our eldest son, Joe, was only five when we took on Hawthorne House in Bolton-le-Sands, and we’ve been able to enjoy seeing him progress to become a very competent pizza chef!

"We have some fantastic (and some not so, as is the nature of hospitality!) memories to take with us.

"We look back on it as a successful venture, but also a successful projection of what Katy and I thought would be the best kind of place we would want to eat - and take our own family to.

"Over the years, we’ve had many wonderful customers, many who have gone on to be regular supporters of Miogelato as well, so thank you all.

"Thank you as well, to all current and former staff, many of whom still keep in touch, and many who still drop in to visit as customers.

"I must pay tribute to my first employee, friend and subsequent business partner, Jon Mole.

"Jon joined the Miaitalia project before the restaurant was even ready, and he has been a pillar of its success ever since.

"He is an incredible pizza chef and I can’t thank him enough for his significant contribution.

"I’m also glad that he’s also still a fundamental part of our gelato business!

"Thank you, Jon.

"Whilst I’m sorry to be closing the door on a food business in Morecambe, I am now able and happy to announce that another independent food operator will be taking on the site, which is great news for the town.

Below, Mr Waddington, staff and customers pictured inside Miaitalia shortly after opening in Morecambe in 2022.

"This presents an exciting opportunity for a new food offering, which I’m really happy to support and see develop in Morecambe. That's all I can share about this for now, but keep an eye out for announcements soon.

"I must also pay significant thanks to our current landlords, James and Richard Altham, for their support and assistance in the closure and transition.

"Thanks to the growth and continued success of Miogelato in Morecambe and Lancaster, our current staff will be unaffected by Miaitalia’s closure.

"Thank you once again to all of your support over the years, I hope to see some of you over the counters at Miogelato.

"As for Miaitalia, it’s certainly goodbye for now, but the trading name and history stays with the Waddingtons, and who knows what the future holds, we have three boys who are all growing up fast.

"Our last trading day will be Saturday, 5th July.

"So for now, it’s goodbye from Miaitalia pizza, grazie tutti!"

The Waddingtons first launched the Miaitalia brand with a coffee shop and retail premises in Kirkby Lonsdale in 2010.

They'd previously run a coffee franchise called Caffeine Rush.

The restaurant opened in premises previously used by Mr Waddington to make his gelato ice cream for miogelato.

Miogelato will remain open, across the road from the restaurant, as will the miogelato on New Street in Lancaster, which opened in 2024.

Mr Waddington is also chair of Morecambe BID (Business Improvement District), a role he began earlier this year.

He is pictured below with John O'Neill, Morecambe BID manager, outside the miogelato shop in Morecambe.

Morecambe BID is a private company that spends money raised from a levy paid by local businesses, on improvements to a specific area of the town centre.

Each business within the Morecambe BID zone in the town centre, pays 1.5 per cent of their rateable value into a funding pot once a year.