The owner of a Farnham burger joint is to close his pub and restaurant, blaming rising costs and the town’s ongoing roadworks.

Dean Sadler said Hungry Boys at The Plough on West Street would shut as he shifts focus to his food truck and award-winning barbecue business.

Mr Sadler said that, like many small independent companies, rising overheads made the pub unsustainable and the business could operate more successfully from a food truck rather than a pub.

Nicknamed “Mr Hungry Boy”, Dean Sadler said: “It’s not worth it anymore. The town’s been massively affected with constant traffic for months. The only reason we even managed with the pub was because of the proceeds from the food trucks.”

The hardship of the past few months has taken its toll, with his mental health struggling as he balanced trying to keep the pub going while having to let more and more staff go, all while caring for his family.

“Everyone thinks Hungry Boys is this big brand but actually it’s just me,” he said. “It’s great that everyone thinks we’re this food superpower, but it’s hard to keep up expectations.

“It’s been horrible. I was working 100-plus hours a week and most nights I was sleeping no more than three hours.

“I have been massively struggling. My own mental health has been massively affected. I’m a single parent and it’s just me and my two kids that is Hungry Boys.”

Mr Sadler added: “I’m looking forward to focussing on barbecue again as it is a labour of love and we compete with some of the best chefs in the world. We have a title to defend and I can’t wait to focus more on creating great barbecue.

“As for Farnham, we are looking at locations in the town to set up food trucks, so we won’t be going anywhere.”