Rick Guerra, the patriarch of the family who owns Bella Mia in Cary, confirmed this afternoon that they are in the process of selling the restaurant.

In 2010, Guerra and his two sons, Anthony and Louis, opened the state's first pizza restaurant with a coal-fired oven to much acclaim. The sons had trained with internationally renowned pizzaiolo Roberto Caporuscio who owns Keste in New York.

N&O restaurant critic Greg Cox gave the restaurant a four-star review and named it the Triangle's best restaurant of the year for 2010.

For fans of the Guerra family, you need to get a last meal by Dec. 22. Otherwise, the restaurant will close for a few weeks and reopened under the new owners who will be trained by the Guerras.

Guerra declined to identify the new owners but will do so when a contract is finalized.