THE owners of Dumbarton’s Bangin’ Pizza have opened up on the incident and the "community support" handed to them after a local complained to the council about artwork on their shutters.

At the beginning of February Castlegreen Street’s Bangin’ Pizza announced via social medial channels that they were “absolutely gutted” to have to paint over commissioned artwork depicting giant slices of pizza and an Italian flag, after a formal complaint was made to West Dunbartonshire Council.

However after talks with the council and immense public backing, it looks like the artwork might be able to stay after all.

And now owners Stephen Kirkwood and Steven Galloni have spoken about their appreciation to the Dumbarton community for their support over the incident.

Stephen told the Reporter: “Gratitude is the first thing that comes to mind. So grateful during these times to have a real rallying community spirit behind us.

“I’d also have to say I'm a little overwhelmed with it. We never in a million years thought something as normal as shutters would cause such a stir.

"I know if it wasn’t our business and we saw this happen to another local business, we would certainly support and be annoyed about the bureaucracy.

“So, thank you so much to everyone who shared their thoughts and have supported us so passionately.

"The best thing about the whole situation was the comments online - they were gold!”

The owners, who are also involved in the music businesses as DJ’s and music producers, talked about the history of their restaurant, and that recent events have only served to boost the pizza joint’s popularity.

“We have always been passionate about food, especially pizza.” Steven Galloni, who is more well known to locals as Big Gal, said. “So, a food place was always going to be on the cards.

"I must say that the pandemic has pushed it along a little bit sooner than we expected but we are happy to roll with the punches.

“We are booking out every week, with Friday and Saturday being the most popular nights. But you’d be surprised how many people want our pizzas on Wednesdays and Thursdays too.

“The shutter situation got everyone talking, so we’re definitely seeing a crazy demand for our pizza at the moment.”

With support also coming from the likes of Jackie Baillie MSP and the SNP's Toni Giugliano, the pair admit that they are feeling hopeful about the future of the shutters.

“Regardless of the decision, we know the people of Dumbarton have our back and we have theirs.

"Plus, it feels good to provide our wonderful community our authentic Italian pizza!”