A POPULAR Italian restaurant has been forced to close at short notice, amid concerns that its building may be sinking into the ground as a result of former mineworks in the area.

Opened in 2015, Giancarlo’s Italian has been one of East Lothian’s favourite family-run Italian restaurants for seven years.

The establishment claimed the runner-up spot for Best Restaurant over 50 seats and Best Pizzeria at the 2015 Scottish Italian Awards and is often busy with customers.

The restaurant’s closure comes as a number of homes and businesses at the eastern end of Tranent High Street “appear to be affected to some degree by ground movement”, East Lothian Council has said, although the council stressed there was “no immediate risk”.

Giancarlo’s took to social media to announce that, with a heavy heart, it would be closing for the foreseeable future.

The High Street restaurant, which imported artisan products from Italy and combined with meat, fish and seafood from East Lothian, thanked its customers for their loyal and dedicated service.

A post read: “It is with deep regret that Giancarlo’s Italian shall be closed for the foreseeable future.

“As our customers are already aware, we have been having lots of problems with the building itself.

“The problems unfortunately continue.”

The owners of Giancarlo’s said the closure of the premises was due to subsidence – when the ground beneath a building sinks, pulling the property’s foundations down with it, which can cause parts of the building to sink, creating misaligned walls, cracks and damage.

The post continued: “Until this problem is rectified entirely, it is with great sadness we must close.

“We shall contact customers in due course regarding any future bookings. Please bear with us during this time as we have a lot to organise. We thank you for your understanding and patience.”

A Giancarlo’s spokesperson reassured customers that all restaurant vouchers would remain valid.

Loyal customers took to Facebook to support Giancarlo Pacitti and his business.

One said: “One of the best restaurants I’ve visited and will continue to support this local business. I do hope it’s rectified soon, as [it’s] very sad for all your efforts and finance you’ve ploughed into the place.”

Another added: “So sorry to hear this, you were an asset to the town. Hopefully this problem will be resolved soon.”

A third comment read: “Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you can sort or find other premises – it is a great wee asset to Tranent High Street.”

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the decision of the proprietor of Giancarlo’s to close their restaurant for the foreseeable future due to ‘subsidence’ affecting the building and note in their social media mention of East Lothian Council having ‘served the notice’.”

The spokesperson said the decision for the restaurant to close was made by the proprietor and added that the council had not requested any premises to close, nor served any notice at this point.

They added: “Following a request to attend a meeting at the properties, the council were made aware of issues to the rear of a number of properties in the eastern end of Tranent High Street that appear to be affected to some degree by ground movement, possibly as a result of former mining within the area. The Coal Authority had already been contacted by one of the occupiers of the properties.

“We would like to assure residents, businesses and customers that there is no immediate risk associated with this movement but that any works will be required to be carried out following further investigations and inspections by the Coal Authority.”