A restaurant in Yoxford which has not reopened since the first Covid lockdown is to be given a fresh lease of life as a pottery studio.
Husband and wife team Jason Vincent and Nancy Main have managed Main's Restaurant, in the High Street, for nearly 15 years.
However, the venue has not welcomed indoor diners since last spring and has relied on a meals at home scheme to maintain an income throughout the pandemic.
Despite the success of the home delivery and collection service, the couple have now announced the restaurant's last day of business will be on Friday.
In a newsletter to customers, Main's Restaurant said: "These past 15 months or so have proved to be times of challenge, change and reassessment for most of the world in one form or another and we consider ourselves to have been very fortunate and privileged in remaining healthy and safe though this period.
"These months have given us the chance to reflect upon everything that Main’s has given us, most importantly, an invaluable community of friends and customers, who have kept us going in innumerable ways over the past 14 years."
The letter revealed Main's Restaurant is set to reopen on June 14 as Yoxford Makers pottery studio, allowing Mrs Main to teach a craft she has honed over the past 25 years.
She said the venue will teach both basic and advanced pottery classes when it opens next month.
The Covid lockdowns and their impacts on the hospitality industry made the couple reconsider exploring a new venture and believe now is the time, Mrs Main added.
She said: "I've been doing pottery for over 25 years. I've done various things with it, but it got put to the side with the restaurant.
"With Covid, everyone has had to reassess what they do. The restaurant has been fantastic and we have had some amazing experiences with it.
"We're excited and very nervous about it. It's something new to do it this way.
"For a long time, pottery has been something I've just had to fit in alongside the restaurant.
"We feel that now is the right time to take a leap into something new."
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