A sandwich shop older than the Philadelphia cheesesteak itself is coming to downtown Lancaster. Ricci's Hoagies, the South Philadelphia institution founded in 1920, opens its new franchise location at 117 N. Water St. next Wednesday, October 21, inside the recently built Gallery 118 apartment complex.
The 1,400-square-foot storefront will seat 16 people inside, according to LancasterOnline, which first reported the opening date. The shop will be run by Lancaster city residents Brendalis Camacho and her husband Marcus Fontanez, who signed on as franchisees for the brand's first Central Pennsylvania outpost, per the same report. Hours will run 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily once doors open.
Ricci's traces its roots to a South Philadelphia counter that opened in 1920, a full decade before Pat's King of Steaks is credited with inventing the Philadelphia cheesesteak, according to Tasting Table. The brand is now owned by Michael Pagliarella, who took over from his father, Rich “Big Rich” Pagliarella, after the elder Pagliarella bought the business in 2001, per the LancasterOnline report.
What's On the Menu
The Lancaster location will serve the chain's full lineup of traditional Italian hoagies alongside roast beef, Italian tuna, and chicken cutlet versions, all built on hand-sliced meats and cheeses, according to the LancasterOnline report. The rolls are shipped in from Liscio's Italian Bakery in New Jersey, a wholesale bakery that was established in 1994 and has become one of the Philadelphia region's premier sub roll suppliers, per Liscio's Bakery.
The chain's flagship item, the Old-Fashioned Italian Hoagie, layers prosciutto, soppressata, and roasted peppers with sharp provolone that's finely crumbled into granular bits across the meats, a technique owner Michael Pagliarella has described as a central signature of the brand, according to WhatNow Philadelphia.
A Historic Building on Gallery Row
Gallery 118 itself has its own backstory. The 72-unit residential building preserved and incorporated the historic brick facade of the former Teachers Protective Mutual Life Insurance Co. building, spanning six stories along Prince Street and seven along Water Street, according to LancasterOnline's coverage via Instagram. The commercial space borders downtown Lancaster's Gallery Row, a corridor of art galleries and boutique shops known for heavy foot traffic during monthly First Friday events and seasonal Music Fridays, per a report from Societe Plus Serhant.
Beyond Philadelphia's City Limits
The Lancaster shop follows a broader expansion push. Ricci's has two other locations in Philadelphia in addition to its original South Philly shop, the LancasterOnline report notes, including a delivery-focused microkitchen concept at 424 East Girard Avenue in Fishtown that opened in late 2025 tailored for third-party delivery apps, according to WhatNow Philadelphia. To keep menu quality consistent as it grows, Pagliarella set up the brand's Logan Square location at 1825 Callowhill St. as a dedicated training hub where new franchisees learn operations, while the original 11th Street shop remains the site for teaching tradition, the outlet reports.
The company's out-of-state push began in October 2025, when Ricci's leased a 1,000-square-foot space at the Centro NoDa development in Charlotte, North Carolina, marking its first location outside Pennsylvania, according to The Business Journals. The brand has also leaned into regional sports culture, running a temporary pop-up stand in the Coca-Cola Corner at Citizens Bank Park in May 2026 during a Phillies series against the Oakland Athletics, per an Instagram post documenting the stand.
The expansion lands amid a sandwich and sub restaurant market that reached $45.2 billion in revenue nationally in 2023, a sign of sustained demand for fast-casual sub concepts and regional food heritage brands, according to Ricci's own franchise materials. Whether the century-old brand can compete with Lancaster's established delis, and whether more Central Pennsylvania locations are in the pipeline, remains to be seen as the Water Street shop prepares to open its doors next week.
