A popular town centre Italian restaurant has shut its doors for good after struggling to recover from the pandemic.

Amalfi in Sittingbourne High Street had opened and closed on several occasions since the first lockdown in 2020.

Owner Musa Kivrak blames staffing issues and trouble bouncing back from the past couple of years' problems as the reasons for its closure.

He said: "We found it hard to get new people in after the pandemic. We just couldn't get staff, and it was hard trying to get hospitality back."

Mr Kivrak owns other restaurants, including Tacos Locos, which has branches in Sittingbourne High Street and in Canterbury.

When he opened Sittingbourne's Tacos Locos in the former Bull Inn pub in January 2018, it was the town's first Mexican-themed restaurant.

He continued: "I have other restaurants, and the existing ones have all been quiet since the pandemic, but this one was so quiet.

"We tried but it couldn't be kept open."

He added he has sold the restaurant to new people who will "bring a new taste" to the area.

However, he was tight-lipped about who was taking over although a sign outside the building, which used to be the Woolwich bank, says "Coban Kitchen 2 is opening soon".

KentOnline contacted an Eltham-based restaurant of the same name but staff were not happy about speaking about a possible move to Kent.

Amalfi, which opened in 2019, had a series of closures and re-openings since the first lockdown in 2020.

While it re-opened in July 2020, it closed again that November for the next national lockdown.

It was planned for the restaurant to re-open last summer but it did not open until the end of the year.

The business closed again this May, initially temporarily for "an unexpected circumstance", with several plans to reopen scuppered by staffing issues.

The Grade II-listed building had previously been empty for eight years.

When the restaurant first opened, Mr Kivrak said: “Sittingbourne deserves and needs the regeneration but it needs someone with courage and enthusiasm.

“We hope people will appreciate what we have built here but we can only survive if they support us. I’m proud to be investing here.

“I like the fact I’m able to breathe new life into an old building that has been empty for some time.

“I think we’ll be able to bring a bit of quality to the town."