The corner space in Savin Hill where Venice Pizza long operated has been vacant since it closed abruptly last year, and owners of the building say it has been hard to land a new tenant.

Joe Wagner, a broker with Boston Realty Advisors, has been marketing the space at 39 Savin Hill Ave. for owner The Broadway Company, based in the Back Bay and headed by Jason Weissman.

“The previous tenant that operated as Venice Pizza is no longer there,” Wagner confirmed. “We’ve had some good interest and we’ve had a couple of groups that we were very excited that got far along but due to their own headwinds could not move forward. These are deals we would have signed, and they’re the ones that walked away from us.”

Wagner said they believe the space is a “great opportunity.” While it can be any type of retail offering, he said, a food operator makes the most sense as it is built out for kitchen needs and was updated in 2021.

“The food business is tough,” Wagner conceded, “so we need the right team to come in and be able to handle a new project. It is a little baffling it has sat so long without a tenant to sign, but a little of that is just being unlucky, too.”

Venice Pizza operated in the spot for decades before closing in 2019. A re-boot of Venice by Joshua Winer, Todd Winer, and John Taxiarchis emerged in 2021, but closed abruptly in 2023 with only a sign on the window noting that repairs were being made to equipment.

Wagner said they are not in negotiations with any potential tenant now and welcome any inquiries from tenants who are ready to operate. He can be reached at jwagner@bradvisors.com.