Il Leone owner and pizzaiolo Ben Wexler-Waite has announced on social media that he will not open his seasonal pizza place Il Leone on Peaks Island this summer. He wrote he was saddened by the closure, which was “due to unforeseen circumstances with the site beyond the control of both us and our Landlord the Lions Club.

“We are so deeply grateful to the Lions Club and our Maine community for such an incredible run of 5 seasons of making pizza on Peaks Island that will forever remain in our hearts,” he continued.

Last year, Wexler-Waite opened a brick-and-mortar Il Leone in New York, his hometown, but he had intended to return to his Maine seasonal spot this summer. For many locals, a visit to Il Leone on Peaks Island for its wood-fired pizzas and a gelato, eaten outside on picnic tables, had become an annual rite of summer.

In his Instagram post, Wexler-Waite said he is scouting for another possible location for his pop-up pizza restaurant.

Ian Stevenson, of the Peaks Island Lions Club, also contributed to the Instagram post, repeating that the circumstances were beyond its control and writing, “…we are sorry to see il Leone leave the Club and Peaks Island but are heartened that the business will live on in other forms and forever remain associated to us through its name.” Il Leone means “the lion” in Italian.

The Lion’s Club on Peaks Island is among the nonprofits that has recently lost its tax-exempt status in Portland, but no one at the Lion’s Club could immediately be reached to say whether that change was connected to Il Leone’s closure. When asked, Wexler-Waite said he was unable to comment beyond what he’d written in his social media posting.