A deal to sell the restaurant and two other Main Street businesses has fallen through.

Bocelli's, the popular Italian-American restaurant in South Medford, is here to stay for now, as a deal to sell the restaurant property fell through.

"I just wasn’t ready yet," said Nick Catricala, the owner of Bocelli's and its Main Street building. "The deal wasn’t really what I really wanted."

Real estate firm Mesiti Group applied to demolish the restaurant and two neighboring businesses, Jason Anthony’s Formal Wear and Backstreet Salon, in July. Developer Rick Welch of Mesiti Group had proposed to replace the existing building with a mixed-use apartment complex.

Catricala was on the fence about the project for some time, especially after the Historical Commission determined the property to be historically significant and issued a demolition delay on Aug. 20. According to Welch, Catricala almost called off the deal on multiple occasions before making his final decision in early September.

"The fellow decided to keep the property for his family," Welch said.

Catricala, who has run the restaurant for the last 20 years, said he decided not to sell for several reasons, including the loyalty of his customers and recent improvements to his health.

"The customers have been coming in, they say, 'We’re gonna miss you. Where are we gonna go?'" Catricala said.

Dozens of fans of Bocelli's took to social media to express disappointment about the restaurant's closing after the Transcript first wrote about the issue in early August. The Main Street space has a long history as a neighborhood restaurant, having previously housed another popular Italian restaurant, DePasquale's.

"I’m glad the deal is over," Catricala said. "I would hate to see a place this go to waste."