A Weymouth harbourside restaurant has shut suddenly. 

The Stable, on Custom House Quay, has closed its doors. 

The Stable is a chain of pizza and cider restaurants and the Weymouth site, at a prime location above the harbour master’s office on the quayside, has been trading for almost 10 years.

It was among the first sites established in the original owner’s expansion plans. It has not been confirmed how many jobs are affected by the decision.

Staff were told about the closure at a meeting on Monday and a sign was place down outside the premises stating the business has now closed (below). 

Dorset Echo:

A statement from the restaurant said: "We are sorry to announce that from today we will cease trading.

"We want to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their support over the years."

A spokesman for national brewery firm and stakeholders Fuller, Smith & Turner said the Weymouth branch of the Stable pizza and cider restaurants had not performed as it had hoped. 

“Unfortunately, we have had to take the hard commercial decision to close the Stable in Weymouth,” said a spokesman.

“It is not a decision we have taken lightly.

"Due to the seasonality of the operation, it did not perform as we had hoped. Therefore, we have made the decision to close the site.”

The chain's other restaurants are not affected. 

“The other Stable sites continue to deliver an outstanding cider and pizza offer to customers from Falmouth to Kew Bridge and we are still very excited by the potential of this excellent, young brand,” the spokesman added.

The Stable was founded by Richard and Nikki Cooper, who opened their first restaurant in Bridport in 2009 and later expanded to Weymouth, as well as Bristol, Bath and Poole.

It now has 15 restaurants across the country. 

Fullers bought a 51 per cent stake in the business in a reported £7.2 million deal in 2014.

The Stable at Weymouth offered more than 50 different ciders plus pizzas with a Dorset twist.

For the past three years it had partnered with the charity Dorset Mind. In that time it raised more than £31,000 through various events.