Sad news for Eastside pizza fans: Dough Box is set to close at the end of this year. The popular pizza shop has been doing deep dish pies since 2016, first under a delivery-only cloud kitchen model, and then as a standalone restaurant tucked along a residential strip of sleepy El Sereno.

Dough Box owner Alexandra Gonzalez confirmed the upcoming closure to Eater over the long weekend, though they have not announced a final day of service. The restaurant’s building is for sale, and she has been month-to-month on her space for a while now. Going back to a delivery and takeaway-only model first came up as an option, but commercial kitchen costs have risen sharply in the past few years as big-name chefs, celebrities, and loads of tech money flood into the scene. Plus, running a restaurant is really, really hard work.

“The restaurant business is a business that I don’t see myself continuing in,” says the 27-year-old Gonzalez over email. “My dream would be for someone to continue the Dough Box legacy, someone who has more passion and time for the restaurant business. Dough Box is very special and I hate that I’m letting people down, but it’s consumed me for three years and I never saw myself as a true restaurant owner. I’m proud of what I did but I know when it’s time to move on.”

As of now, Gonzalez says she’ll close Dough Box by the end of the year unless they are asked to vacate by the landlord. That means there’s no telling exactly when the restaurant will be gone for good, so best to make plans for one final deep dish pizza now. Meanwhile, the field of across-the-city competition continues to be stacked with players, including Blackbird Pizza on Melrose, Hollywood Pies, Masa of Echo Park, and new entrants like Patxi’s Pizza in Downtown and Chicago legend Gino’s East, which lands soon in the San Fernando Valley.

Dough Box. 2734 N. Eastern Ave., Los Angeles, CA.