FOLLOWING the announcement last month that Santa Maria pizzeria will be moving to a different location in Ealing , the owners have now also announced that the original location will become vegan.

Pasquale Chionchio and Angelo Ambrosio set up Santa Maria pizzeria 11 years ago because they wanted "a local place to show the people of Ealing what traditional, good pizza tastes like."

Following the success of the first venue on St Mary's Road in Ealing, the pair now have a number of branches across London.

The two best friends announced last month that they will be opening a new restaurant on Bond Street in Ealing.

At the same time however they also stated that they wouldn't be shutting down the original venue, but instead rebranding it.

It has now been announced that the original venue will turn into a vegan restaurant, called Vergine Maria.

Chionchio told Nub News: "The original restaurant is where it all started for us and it gave us good karma, we can't just leave it behind.

"We always had in mind that we would do a vegan pizza project sooner or later and this just makes sense.

"We already have the set-up with the pizza oven, it would be a shame to destroy it and change the restaurant completely.

"We're starting a new project (Vergine Maria) in the same location where we started Santa Maria, it's all come full circle."

The new restaurant won't just serve pizza, it will also serve unique vegan dishes and drinks that won't be available in the other branches.

Vergine Maria was scheduled to open on January 21, but due to the new lockdown, that's no longer possible.

Chionchio said: "We hope we can open Vergine by the end of February, around the same time as the new Santa Maria on Bond Street, but it's all dependent on the restrictions," added Chionchio.