March 31, 2022 8.00 pm This story is over 24 months old

Popular Cleethorpes restaurant closing to make way for flats

It’s fully booked until it shuts on April 9
Valerie's Italian. | Photo: Google Street View

Popular Cleethorpes restaurant Valerie’s Italian is to close next month.

Owners Valerie and John Armstrong are retiring more than 22 years after they launched the restaurant. The last day of business will be Saturday, April 9 – but unfortunately for the restaurant’s many fans, it is fully booked until then.

A planning application has been submitted to turn the Kingsway restaurant into a single-bedroom apartment, which could potentially be rented out on AirBnB. The couple say they are sad to close the restaurant, but are looking forward to a break.

Valerie said: “It will be very sad to leave. We are certainly going to miss the restaurant and all of our customers, but it’s the right thing to do.

“We first opened on December 1, 2000, have just entered our 23rd year. We’ve created a monster, but it’s a monster that we love.

“It’s really hard graft – people in the catering industry will know how difficult it can be. I’ve been in the industry for 47 years, starting when I was 13.

“It’s time to have some time to ourselves and do normal things at the weekend like go out.”

She added that the couple love the building they have invested so much time and money in, and will continue to maintain the AirBnB apartments.

The planning application asks for permission to change the use of the ground floor, and to make the necessary internal and external alterations. North East Lincolnshire Council will decide on it at a later date.

Valerie’s Italian is one of the top-rated restaurants in the whole of Cleethorpes on TripAdvisor, with more than 400 reviews and an average rating of 4.5 stars. One recent review said: “Food was great, atmosphere was incredible and service was as friendly as it always is. Pizzas are always great and go down well with the whole family.”