Sal's Pizza & Subs in Penn Township will close after its last day of business on Saturday, Nov. 28, as owner Diane Coppola looks to retire after 37 years running the shop at 1234 Baltimore Street. The closure brings an end to a business that has fed Hanover-area customers for more than 50 years.
Coppola is retiring after nearly four decades at the helm of the Baltimore Street location, according to The Evening Sun. The shop's own history traces back even further than Coppola's tenure there: per Sal's Pizza & Subs, the first Sal's location opened in 1973, with the business relocating to its current Baltimore Street address in 1989.
That timeline means the pizzeria has been a fixture of Penn Township life for well over half a century, spanning multiple decades of regulars who've grown up on its pies and subs. The shop's Facebook page, which has racked up more than 2,300 likes and over 500 check-ins from people who've visited in person, reflects just how embedded the business has become in the local dining scene.
A Tough Stretch for Central Pennsylvania Restaurants
Sal's closure lands amid a broader wave of restaurant shutdowns across the region this year. A report from PennLive found that several central Pennsylvania establishments have closed in 2026, for reasons ranging from bankruptcy to a drop in business. That same report noted that Pizza Hut announced plans to shutter roughly 250 underperforming locations nationwide this year.
Other closures cited in the PennLive piece include Primanti Bros., which shut down two central Pennsylvania restaurants in February — one at Capital City Mall and another at Lancaster Shopping Center. Taylor Chip Cookie Co., based in Lancaster County, closed all of its locations, including its production center in Intercourse, effective April 11, after a failed bankruptcy reorganization.
Another Hanover Pizza Shop's Rough Year
Sal's isn't the only pizzeria with Hanover ties to face closure recently, though the circumstances were markedly different. Jerry & Sals Pizza, a separate business located at North Hanover Mall, was ordered to close roughly a year ago after the mall was condemned. A Hanover Borough code enforcement officer told Local 21 News that the mall was condemned due to life-safety issues discovered during an inspection.
That shop had reportedly been making pies for more than 50 years, with its owner at the helm for 25 of those years, according to the same report. The forced closure came abruptly, with the owner told she needed to finish up and close shop the same day the condemnation was issued.
For Sal's Pizza & Subs, the end is coming on far gentler terms — a planned retirement rather than a sudden shutdown — but the result is the same: one more longtime name disappearing from the local pizza landscape before the month is out.
