A popular café has shut after more than 30 years - ahead of its transformation into a restaurant serving “the largest pizza in town”.

The Sportsman in Wincheap, Canterbury, has been dishing up fry-ups since the late 1980s, when it was launched by former owner Dave Richardson.

His shock death in 2018 saw the café close for a period of time, but it later reopened under new ownership.

Now, it has now been bought by Amir Masomi, who hopes to open his first eatery, Big Boys Pizza, at the beginning of May.

He will co-run the business with three friends, who all have years of experience running restaurants, including The Old Weavers in St Peter’s Street and Olive Grove in Best Lane.

“This is the first restaurant, but we are hoping to launch a chain in Kent in the future,” said Mr Masomi, who lives in Canterbury.

“We may look at Herne Bay, Whitstable and the Thanet area.”

Mr Masomi says the restaurant will offer traditional Italian food, including homemade pasta, but there will be one mighty meal on the menu.

“We are bringing the biggest pizza in town, which is 20 inches,” he added.

“It is not meant for one person - it is to be shared between probably four people.

"We just want to bring something new.

“Any pizza can be 20 inches - even margherita. It’s not that easy because if it was, everyone would have done it.

“It takes up space and it’s hard to deliver, but we are making that possible.”

Mr Masomi also intends to make alterations to allow for more comfortable outdoor dining.

“We’re planning to make the garden lovely for the summer so customers can use it as an eating area,” he explained.

“At the moment the garden is usable, but we want to make it a very nice and beautiful one.”

The restaurant will open from 11am to 11pm, seven days a week.

“We might apply for an alcohol licence in the future so we can serve beverages,” Mr Masomi added.

Following Mr Richardson’s death, the cafe was taken on by Numan Sherifali, who now plans to retire.

“The café was very popular run by me and family members,” he told KentOnline.

“We sold the café so I can retire, as I was past retirement age last year.

“The new owners are looking forward to using the premises as a pizzeria.”