Often dubbed ‘the best pizza in Newport’, the owners of Al Forno (part of Yard Group Ltd), have announced that the pizzeria will cease trading on September 3rd and merge with sister company, Tin Can Kitchen.
Originally conceived as part of a wider plan to operate a street food-style food court and cultural space from the car park of What! Stores, Rogerstone, Al Forno re-launched as a food delivery service alongside Tin Can Kitchen, in November 2020.
Popular with local residents, with many praising the quality of the food on offer, owners Barry Fallon and Jordan Phillips have decided to run a scaled-back pizza delivery service from Tin Can Kitchen as of September 4th, in a move the owners anticipate will streamline current operations and assist in future growth.
Co-owner Barry Fallon reflects on the merger and future vision for Yard Group Ltd:
“We’re extremely proud of what we have achieved with Al Forno and we know this will come as a shock to our loyal customers. Since moving away from our initial food court idea, we have run a food delivery service throughout Newport and have even expanded the Tin Can Kitchen brand to Cwmbran, opening our second kitchen there last October. Our plan is to continue growing the Tin Can brand, with more store openings on the horizon. In order to achieve this, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close Al Forno, as this will streamline operations and help us achieve our vision of multiple Tin Can Kitchen stores across the country.”
Commenting on the merger, co-owner Jordan Phillips had this to say:
“Closing Al Forno was a tough decision to make, but we feel it was necessary to allow us to keep pushing the Tin Can Kitchen brand. Luckily, we can still offer great tasting pizza via Tin Can Kitchen, whilst safeguarding as many jobs as possible. To this end, we will operate a reduced menu and incorporate other elements of Al Forno’s current offering into Tin Can Kitchen’s. This will also allow us to continue providing event catering – weddings, corporate events, Birthday parties – an area of the business which has grown steadily over the last 18 months. We’ll also have more time to focus on a number of new initiatives we are working on, such as the Tradey’s Club, a scheme offering tradespeople 15% off takeaway orders at Tin Can Kitchen.”
The merger forms part of a wider brand re-fresh and operational strategy for Tin Can Kitchen, to include an updated menu and a new daytime operation at Tin Can Kitchen Cwmbran.
“Tin Can Kitchen is going from strength to strength”, said co-owner Jordan Phillips. “Despite the current climate, sales are strong and we’re looking at expanding into neighbouring towns and cities. We’re not complacent, however, and we recognise the need to adapt and improve our current offering. The current Tin Can Kitchen menu will see a number of improvements including a new wing bar, offering a range of classic bone-in and boneless chicken wings to rival the likes of Wing Stop. Our Cwmbran store will also start trading during the daytime. The loss of Al Forno is deeply unfortunate, but we’re very excited for what the future holds for Tin Can Kitchen and the new ‘Tin Can Pizza’ arm of the business.”
The new pizza delivery arm of the business will operate from the company’s flagship store in Rogerstone, Newport, only. There are currently no plans to run a pizza operation at Tin Can Kitchen Cwmbran.
