THERE were queues down the street as hundreds of people flocked to the opening night of a new Winchester Pizzeria.

Three Joes Sourdough Pizza on Great Minster Street gave away one free pizza to every customer to celebrate their official opening.

Co-owner Tim Hall said: “We have been overwhelmed with the response.

“There were 200 people queued up outside by four-thirty and we didn’t open until five.”

Reports on Facebook suggested that some customers had queued for two and a half hours for their free food.

The family friendly restaurant promise fresh, high quality pizza, made to order using local ingredients straight from a wood fired oven.

Founded by industry veterans Tim Hall, Emma Blackmore and Peter Bruton, the trio have worked for some of the most successful restaurant chains in the country including Pret Manger, Ask Italian and burger chain Byron.

When asked why they decided to give away free pizzas Tim Hall said: “ We wanted to make a splash in Winchester in a way that was all about the customers.

“Giving away the pizza away for free we saw as an opportunity for the customers to try our food and decide for themselves whether they like the restaurant or not.”

The restaurant is the company’s second, with their first opening in Fareham in 2016.

Mr Hall said: “ We always wanted to open in Winchester as it is such a beautiful town. We wanted to wait for the for the right space.

“When this came up we fought hard against several other competitors and were delighted when we were told we were successful.”

Three Joes Sourdough Pizza opened on Monday, June 11 for a soft launch with its official opening last Thursday.