A pizza parlour businessman says he has endured months of targeted harassment leaving him no choice but to temporary close his restaurant.
Dan Johnstone of 600 Degrees Pizza is one of the most popular restaurateurs in Southport having risen to fame after launching his Southport Market based pizza stall.
Eventually high demand led Dan to open a second premises, this time a sit in restaurant, in Hillside.
However the businessman has tonight revealed he has no choice but to temporary close the Hillside restaurant after a shocking seven months of harassment.
During that time the restaurants windows have been smashed, the front of the store defaced and Dan says his tyres have been slashed at his home address.
There are also claims of countless harassing phone calls and slanderous social media posts shared about the business.
Dan now says for the safety of his staff he must close down the restaurant temporarily.
In an emotion post shared this evening he wrote “ As some might be aware my business has been targeted several times since March, one of the occasions the offender in question left his blood on the window after smashing it and he will appear in court this month on this charge. Since this time, there have been harassment calls, visits to my home to slash my tyres, fake social media profiles set up to give the business bad reviews and make slanderous accusations towards myself and the business.
“Unfortunately, the business has been targeted twice this week alone, hence the difficult discussion to temporarily close for the sake of my staff, family, the community and myself. As a local businessman, as expected, this has been a very time consuming, draining period and with our two other locations we simply don’t have the facilities to keep Hillside open during this difficult time.
“I appreciate everyone’s concerns and questions. The support from our loyal customers and the community has been amazing and those who know myself, my family and the business are aware that this target is completely unjust.”
The 600 Degrees Southport Market stall and a third business in Ormskirk Market remain fully open.
Anyone with any information should call Merseyside Police on 101.