A NEW gloom settled on Devizes a few weeks ago when amid the coronavirus crisis owners of Massimo’s decided they could not continue their takeaway service during lockdown.

They decided to shut up shop in Old Swan Yard as they joined businesses everywhere evaluating health and safety and what could and could not be done.

But after a few weeks away from the kitchen Massimo Pipitone and his wife Shanai decided they could not bear being away from their customers.

The announcement on social media about the change of heart was met with many messages of relief and joy that lockdown no longer seemed so bad after all.

The couple, who have a young daughter Melissa, miss their normal close contact with their customers but have set up an ordering and bell service which allows minimal contact.

The takeaway menu is much shorter than the usual restaurant offering but includes 17 pizzas and 15 pasta dishes.

Takeaway is available from Monday to Saturday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm but if orders get really hectic earlier time slots are sometimes added.

Delivery in the Devizes area is also available on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at a £2 charge.

We tried out the food on a Friday evening a week after they re-opened. Ordering via Facebook was simple and we got an immediate response to say it had been received and payment would be taken at pick-up time.

My husband and I decided to go for one pizza and a lasagne to share between us. To be honest both are big enough to share but we had been without our Massimo fix for some time so decided to indulge.

We went for a Franco pizza (£13.95) which has a bit of everything including tomatoes, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, peppers, olives, anchovies and olives and a lasagne (£11.95).

The lasagne comes with garlic bread on the side and was just as good as the usual restaurant version. It even came with a little pot of parmesan cheese to add at the last minute.

The pizza came sliced and overflowing with its many toppings. It was so good we had to keep going long after the need for more food had been reached.

In addition to the pizza and pasta selections sides such as salads and focaccia bread (with or without cheese) are also available.

Tiramisu priced at £3.50 a pot can be had by those in need of a pud and sometimes Shanai creates fresh fruit salad.

We ordered to collect our food at 7pm on a Friday and we obviously were not the only ones to have gone for this sort of time slot.

As has become our new normal under social distancing I arrived to find a small queue of people standing 6ft apart in Old Swan Yard.

But this being Devizes it was not long before other people I knew also arrived for their Massimo fix and everyone joined in a bit of a chat.

Once your order is ready it is brought to the top of stairs and card payment is taken in a quicktransaction.The slight wait was well worth it and everything was still piping hot after a short drive home.

JOANNE MOORE