A HENLEY shoe shop that advertised a closing down sale in January says it is now here to stay.

Angelo Dorata, who runs Venue Shoes in Hart Street, said he planned to shut the store after his landlord raised the rent.

Although he announced the clearance sale in his window, Mr Dorata carried on negotiating behind the scenes and eventually reached a compromise.

This week, he took down the closure sign and started restocking his shelves.

Mr Dorata said he could not give details of the new lease agreement, which runs for five years. He said: “We had a lot of regular customers coming in to ask what was going on and saying it was a shame that we were leaving.


“I’m very happy that we’re able to stay and I think they are too. I don’t have much stock left at the moment but there are new deliveries on the way.”

Mr Dorata, who is originally from Sicily, opened Venue Shoes in December 2010. It sells handmade shoes and jewellery by designers from across Europe.

In 2003, he opened the Dorata hair salon on the other side of Hart Street.

Published 18/03/13