October 28, 2026
Source/Image licensed from Ingram Image
Nino's Pizza in Lansdale is closing after 60 years in business. The third-generation owners are planning something new for the storefront at 721 E. Main St. Above, a stock photo of a pizza.
Nino's Pizza in Lansdale is permanently closing after a 60-year run as plans take shape for a new business at the storefront on East Main Street.
The pizzeria's owners explained the decision to close Tuesday in a Facebook post. Longtime owner Margaret Maltese died in March, leaving the business in the hands of her children – the third generation to run it.
"The truth is, we could never live up to the legacy that our mom and grandparents built," the family wrote. "What they created was about so much more than pizza. It was about family, tradition and bringing people together. That legacy will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we’re endlessly grateful to everyone who has been part of it for more than 60 years."
The restaurant has not announced its closing date.
Nino's pizza was opened in New Jersey in 1966 by Sicilian immigrant Tony Maltese, who moved the restaurant to Lansdale within its first year. His shop was among Lansdale's first pizza places.
“I was the beginning,” Maltese told the Reporter Online when he celebrated his 82nd birthday in 2015. “I was more busy then because there was no competition.”
Maltese moved the business to its current location at 721 E. Main St. in the 1980s and went on to open more than a dozen pizza shops in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Most of those stores — including shops in Telford, Chalfont and Conshohocken — were sold to Maltese's employees while he maintained the original business in Lansdale. The shop specializes in thin, crispy, New York-style pizzas and was known for its buffalo chicken and tomato pies.
When Maltese died in 2019, his daughter Margaret took over the business with her children and carried on the legacy. She had a sharp wit and sass that she occasionally displayed on Nino's Instagram page. In February, she posted a video mocking how social media influencers show off a pizza slice.
The family described Margaret as "the heart and backbone of the business" after her death earlier this year and thanked longtime customers for their messages of support. In their message Tuesday, the family said plans are taking shape for something to replace Nino's.
"While this chapter is coming to a close, something new will be taking the place of Nino’s," the family said. "We’ll share more information about what’s to come soon, so stay tuned."
Dozens of customers shared memories of eating at Nino's over the years in comments responding to the family's Facebook post.
"From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for everything, and especially for the love you’ve shown us during this unimaginable time," the owners wrote. "Lansdale has been so much more than a place to do business. You’ve been family."
