The owner of Edinburgh's Pure Pizza, who rose to notoriety after vowing to give away free pizzas to locals, says he was left feeling stressed after people queued from 11am for freebies.
Marc Wilkinson, 55, says he thought his stunt to cost around £12,000 - but now warns it will amount to three times that.
The £36,000 cost of his quest to give everyone in Edinburgh a free pizza has led to the business owner describing the experience as “very stressful.”
READ MORE: Edinburgh takeaway owner has to launch fundraiser after offering everyone free pizzas
Marc says that those taking up his offer had taken him off guard with more people than he expected queueing up outside the pizzeria from opening time at 11am, the BBC reports.
This has led to panic setting in as the businessman has already given away thousands of pizzas to crowds of Edinburgh residents.
His aim was to help those battling the cost of living crisis through this act of kindness.
He told the BBC: "At first it felt so exciting because everyone who was coming to the shop was saying what a great thing I was doing and it was a nice feeling, I felt like Santa.
"But as the days went on a lot more people were turning up than I thought there would be.
"I started to panic at the thought of this happening for the whole month and that I would run out of funds.
"I was dreading the moment of having to decide to put a stop to it."
With his efforts costing three times more than planned, Marc set up a JustGiving page to try to cover the costs of the scheme.
He added that kind-hearted supporters had also come forward with one local woman coming into the restaurant to hand over £300 in a roll of notes.
A businessman in India is also understood to have donated funds to the cause amongst other small donations.
Marc said: "My brain was working overtime when I realised I might not be able to cope with this but it all changed when I started receiving donations.
"I realised that there were people all over the world willing to help me."
To ensure he meets the demand of the free pizza giveaway, the business owner says that he has been working 12-hours-a-day.
"It has been very stressful but I'm still glad I did it and I don't want to stop it," he said.
"My gift is out there in the psyche of Edinburgh and it seems a shame to cut it in its tracks."
READ NEXT:
Iconic Edinburgh nightclub ATIK to close its doors for good this week
Carer allergic to cold told she looks like a ‘monster’ after unusual reaction
Historic Edinburgh snooker club and bar set to be turned into new homes
Rare opportunity to own one of Edinburgh’s grandest mansions with incredible garden
BBC Hairy Bikers' fans devastated as Si King and Dave Myers issue 'sad' update
