A town centre kebab shop’s bid to keep serving food until 5am has been scrapped.

Earlier this year, a licensing application was submitted by Zorba’s Shisa & Kebab to stay open and serve food until 5am each night.

But it has emerged that the licensing application has been withdrawn after the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Reading Borough Council’s licensing team for an update.

A cleaner at Zorba’s said its owner Matthew Joannou is unable to comment because “he is in Canada” and won’t be back for around a year.

Zorba’s currently has permission to serve food until 3am.

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The kebab joint is something of a staple in the town centre, and has been run for over 20 years.

It has an extensive menu ranging from signature kebabs to burgers, chicken nuggets and chips, and also Mediterranean specialties such as halloumi, pitta and olives.

Zorba’s is located at the entrance to Harris Arcade in Station Road.

The building Harris Arcade is situated in was bought by property company AEW UK for £9 million in February.

The kebab shop takes its name from the book Zorba the Greek, which explores the relationship between a young intellectual and the adventurous Alexis Zorbis.