One of Weymouth’s top restaurants has announced it has closed its doors for good, following a devastating fire last year.

The owners of Mallams have announced, after 28 years on Weymouth’s harbourside, the restaurant will not reopen after a fire broke out in the kitchen on May 6, 2018 causing ‘significant damage’ to the roof and kitchen.

Owners, Janice and Steve Gosson said at the time of the fire the restaurant would reopen in due course but they have now announced they have decided to retire.

In a statement made on their website, Mr and Mrs Gosson said: “It is with deep sadness that after twenty eight years we must bid you all farewell. We have decided in the light of the fire which we had in May 2018 that the time has come to retire.

“We have had an absolute ball, serving amazing food, making fabulous cocktails and welcoming the most loyal and lovely guests, many of whom who been coming since 1990. We have been honoured to serve you all and been such an asset to the dining scene in Weymouth.”

Speaking to the Echo, Mrs Gosson said a crisis in the chef industry and a ‘lack of new talent’ in the area had been “paramount” in their decision to permanently close their doors.

“We need people who are trained to a high standard and it’s been very difficult to find people with the right skills. We are not the only ones - lots of businesses are in the same situation. The plan to retire was already in place and we had been taking a step back for a couple of years - the fire was just the straw that broke the camels back.”

Mrs Gosson added building, which was originally built as a Tudor cottage, had served as a shop and then a barber’s during the Second World War.

Before her and her husband took it over, it had been a restaurant called ‘The Lazy Prawn’.

“When we took it on in 1990, I was front of house and my husband was the chef. It grew in success and we extended the restaurant in 2003,” she said.

In recent years, Mr and Mrs Gosson’s daughter Lauren and her partner CJ had taken on the running of the business.

“It’s been a very sociable business to be in. We will miss our customers and we are very grateful to them for being such loyal supporters for many years,” Mrs Gosson said.

Mr and Mrs Gosson will continue to operate the holiday apartment above the restaurant, which opened in 1997, and said they were looking forward to welcoming back their regular clients.

She added the restaurant space would being let out and would hopefully be opened as a new business in the near future.