After reinventing twice in a year, this popular Bradenton pizza place is closing

Following a tumultuous year in which the restaurant's format switched from a pizzeria to a smokehouse and back to a pizza place, the owners of Village Idiot Pizzeria have decided to close their shop.

The announcement came via a Facebook post on April 1, but it was no April Fool's joke.

Along with a screenshot of a calendar highlighting May 26, owner Joey Yost wrote, "That little black dot signifies the last day I'll be making pizzas in Cortez."

At the end of 2016, the pizzeria at 11904 Cortez Road W. morphed from VIP to a smokehouse-marked restaurant called Sea Smoke. At the time, Yost told the Bradenton Herald he made the decision so that he could spend more time with his family, including his partner, Amanda Sprague, and their young son. Sea Smoke's 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours allowed the couple to get home in time for dinner, they said.

But another reason for the switch was that Yost, the restaurant's chef, had grown bored of cooking pizza.

“You can only put so many half-cheese and half-pepperoni pizzas in a box,” Yost said.

Customer reaction turned out to be lukewarm, however, and the Sea Smoke concept lasted about 10 months. Sprague said that given a little more time and a little more money, she believes they could have made the idea work.

"A lot of people were like, 'Ahh! No more pizza,' " she explained. "Had we had the funds to keep it going, it probably would've taken off."

That's the reaction customers are having once again after reading about the impending close on Facebook.

"Aww man! Really bummed we didn't see you when we were in Sarasota recently," said one Facebook user.

Another couldn't believe the announcement was true, writing, "I hope this is an April Fool's joke! I love your pizza, you spoiled me for anyone else's pizza!"

Sprague said the relationships she's formed with customers will be what she misses most.

"Not being able to see the people who've supported us and become our friends will be hard for me. I mean, I watched their kids grow up over the last seven years," Sprague said.

The decision to close VIP stems from the couple's desire to return to Maine, Sprague said.

Sprague and Yost met in Maine and used to run a restaurant in the state. They moved to Manatee County because Yost had family in the area. They have plans to re-enter the restaurant industry in Maine.

"Eventually we will do something up there in terms of a restaurant," Sprague said.

VIP specializes in house-made pizzas with fresh, locally produced ingredients. Yost and Sprague said they are interested in selling the restaurant so that a new owner may continue "what we’ve been doing for seven years or even make it better."

"We want to keep it running like we are not. We'd hate to see it go to something else, but the next person can do whatever they like," Sprague said. "We're just really proud of what we've got going on here."

Anyone interested in purchasing the business can call (941) 896-5847 for more information.

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 3:35 PM with the headline "After reinventing twice in a year, this popular Bradenton pizza place is closing."