New tenants take over Wolverhampton's Don Salvo restaurant

The restaurant has been owned and run by the Ferrante family for more than 22 years. But they today confirmed while they still own the building, the restaurant on the ground floor – which is likely to remain as an Italian – has now been leased out to someone else. James Drago Ferrante, who manages the property, said he had moved away from the area a few months ago.

"So we decided to let out the restaurant to new tenants ," he said.

Mr Drago Ferrante said that the decision would also give the restaurant a 'new lease of life'.

Mr Drago Ferrante added the top floor of the Darlington Street building was still on track to be converted into student flats.

Around £100,000 will be ploughed into converting the top floor of the restaurant, after plans were approved earlier this month.

It is hoped work will start at the end of September.

The move to convert the upstairs of the building, which used to be used as a cocktail bar, was first unveiled earlier this year.

At the time, bosses said it would help to 'boost the local economy'.

But it also emerged that trade at the restaurant had dropped by more than half in two years.

In 2011, the restaurant was put on the market when the Ferrante family threatened to leave the city centre amid complaints it was 'no longer up to standard'.

It was put up for sale with a price tag of £150,000.

But the owners decided to stay put following talks with the local authority and other business bosses.

They claimed the decision to scrap controversial night-time parking charges at Fold Street car park had helped convince them to stay.

The owners of Don Salvo also took over the landmark Mitre pub in Lower Green, Tettenhall at the start of last year after a £35,000 refit however it closed six months later.

Don Salvo was launched in 2006 and before that the site was known as Geppetto's.