This is why Pizza Venti in Salisbury is closing permanently

Pizza Venti, at 140 Fisherton Street, has been hit by numerous setbacks and temporarily shut down on December 18 to help manage costs.

Yet, just under one month later, it reopened with reduced hours from January 13.

However, on June 16, the owner Alexandru Popescu announced he would 'give up his dream' and close the business for good.

The announcement comes after a new chef was hired in May in a bid to improve Pizza Venti.

Read more: ​Award-winning chef becomes newest team member at Pizza Venti

The pizza restaurant has been rated the number one restaurant in Salisbury on TripAdvisor for more than a year, with 169 five-star reviews.

Mr Popescu said he is open to selling the business and outlined a number of reasons which ultimately led up to the closure.

Pizza Venti on Fisherton Street. (Image: Spencer Mulholland)

Telling guests that he was "very naive" in summary, Mr Popescu said there were a number of repairs that had to be made to the building which "destroyed" the refurbishment budget.

A new smoke evacuation system, fire system, heating system and other "small repairs" put Mr Popescu in a "challenging situation" before the restaurant even opened.

"Because we believed so much in what we wanted to achieve with the business and in the quality of our products and services, we were sure that if we do many sacrifices, we will come out stronger and we will overcome all our challenges," he added.

See more: ​Bradbeers give Salisbury business owners high hopes

In January Mr Popescu returned to Romania to look after his parents and his wife Maria tried to "revive" the company with the new chef.

But inconsistency within the business and being apart from each other made things difficult.

Mr Popescu said: "Me and Maria have put a lot of love, hope, work, money and feelings into what Pizza Venti represents."

An official closing date has not yet been announced.