-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
A lone car is parked outside of Godfather's Pizza, 2305 First Ave. S., Thursday night. Management announced the immediate closure of the longtime Fort Dodge restaurant on Thursday.

Godfather’s Pizza, 2305 First Ave. S., closed its doors for the final time on Thursday.

Manager Betsy Swanberg confirmed the closure to The Messenger, adding that the restaurant was originally going to close on Sunday, but because of staff shortages and running out of product, she moved the closure to Thursday.

Godfather’s Pizza opened in Fort Dodge in 1977. Its first day of business was the same day as the May 4, 1977, tornado that hit Fort Dodge, Swanberg said.

Swanberg did not specify why the pizza restaurant was closing. The strip mall it is located in was purchased by Nestle Purina PetCare last year.