By J.R. TIDWELL / Editor

April 22 marks a sad day for many pizza lovers in Clanton.

The People’s Pie Company announced via its Facebook page that it will soon be closing its doors.

“This is a sad day for The People’s Pie Company as we have come to the decision to close our doors,” said the post. “We have enjoyed serving this community and we hope that you have enjoyed our pizza!”

People’s Pie was opened by Jason Lea and his wife, who also own Neighborhood Grill in Clanton, in February of last year.

“I felt like we had built up a rapport with the community, and pizza is something I am passionate about and enjoy doing,” said Lea ahead of the restaurant’s grand opening on June 15, 2018. “It gave us the opportunity to expand more in town and maybe do something a little different than what we have been. I have a background in pizza. I have worked at a handful of pizza places, including a couple of chains, I felt like I knew this business pretty well.”

One of the main ideas behind People’s Pie was to offer pizzas made with fresh, high quality ingredients.

The idea seemed to work, as People’s Pie was voted Best Pizza in Peach Living’s 2019 Best of the Best contest, which is decided by community voting.

“We want to thank our loyal customers and the community for voting us best pizza in the county,” the company said on Facebook. “I understand that some of you may be confused as to this closing, but I want you to know this decision was made over lots of prayer, thoughtful consideration and time.

“Although we have had successes in many ways, we simply have not been able to achieve the sales volume to cover our operating expenses at the ‘Pie’. In order to ensure the health of our overall company and to best ensure job security for our employees at both of our restaurants, we have decided to make this move.”

People’s Pie said in the post that employees will be “offered positions at the Neighborhood Grill following this closure.”

“My team and I will learn from this, and we trust that God will continue to bless us if we stay faithful to Him,” said the Facebook post. “Who knows, the ‘Pie’ might be reborn somewhere else in the future!”

According to the post, People’s Pie will be offering a final chance for “you guys that love our pizza” to have it again before the restaurant closes its doors.

“We will open at 4 p.m. this week and serve carry out only until our inventory becomes too thin to operate,” said the post, which was made during the early evening on April 22. “When we get to that point we will announce it… on Facebook.”