Via Gelato Hawaii owner Melissa Bow announced her Ward location will close next month due to the high cost of rent and told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser she plans to file for bankruptcy.

The handmade gelato shop announced the Ward Village store’s closure on Instagram Friday and assured followers they can still get their gelato fix at Via’s original location in Kaimuki, which opened in 2014.

“I would like to (keep the Kaimuki location open),” Bow said, adding that filing for bankruptcy might help save the original location.

Bow, 39, opened the Ward Village shop in November 2017. She said she struggled to break even running the business, which resulted in her taking out loans and using profits from the Kaimuki shop to help pay $11,000 in monthly rent at the Ward location near Hakubundo and Agu Ramen.

“I personally work 100-plus (hours) a week and haven’t been paid more than $4 an hour for the past two years, living below the poverty line,” Bow wrote in a post on Via Gelato’s Instagram that garnered over 1,900 likes by Saturday afternoon. “I have spent all my life savings building the Via Ward store and paying it’s rent.”

Bow said Ward Village considered offering her a rent reduction for four months, but the assistance did not surface. Bow has a 4 1/2-year lease.

Ward Village spokeswoman Andrea Galvin said in an email that the growing retail business at the location continues to provide a great experience to visitors.

“Local small businesses are important to us, and we truly want every one of them to succeed,” Galvin said. “We are upfront and transparent in the terms of our leases, and while not every business succeeds, the many who have provide a one of a kind retail destination.”

Instagram users flooded Via Gelato’s feed with messages of support.

“I’m heartbroken myself that I’ve lost everything that I’ve ever saved in my entire life; I don’t want to see them lose their community spot,” Bow said.

The shop serves 14 flavors each day inspired by local tastes such as black sesame, peanut butter oreo, and milk tea. Gelato is served in a variety of sizes costing between $3.80 and $8.

The exact date of the Ward location closure has yet to be determined.

“We want to be able to vacate the space by the end of May, at the latest,” Bow said. “We will need to stop serving gelato before then.”

Bow encouraged customers to support Hawaii-owned businesses.

“We live here and we need to protect our local businesses,” she said.

Via Gelato won a Star-Advertiser ‘Ilima Award in 2014 in the “Rave Reviews” category.