Local
Hatfield’s Zoto’s Diner set to shut as Sheetz proposal awaits permits
The family-run diner on Bethlehem Pike will serve its last customers Oct. 25, ending a 53-year presence in Hatfield Township. Sheetz wants to replace the property with a convenience store and gas station, but several approvals remain outstanding.
Zoto’s Diner will close Oct. 25 after 53 years in Hatfield Township, as Sheetz seeks permission to build a convenience store and gas station on the Route 309 property.
The restaurant at 1100 Bethlehem Pike opened in 1973 in the Line Lexington section of the township. Its owners, Steve Zoto, his wife JoAnne and their daughter Nikki, invited customers to visit before closing, describing the farewell as emotional and thanking staff for years of service.
Brothers Steve and Nick Zoto founded the diner, carrying on a family restaurant business begun by their father. The building was made by New Jersey’s Fodero Dining Car Company, which manufactured prefabricated diners. A banquet space was added in the 1980s. Longtime chef John “Yanni” Karistinos has worked in the kitchen since 1983.
Sheetz has been pursuing land-development approval and a liquor license for the site. Hatfield’s Board of Commissioners approved a liquor-license transfer in July, and the township planning commission later voted unanimously to recommend the company’s proposal. The project still requires final township approval, as well as approvals from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and PennDOT. The plan calls for demolishing the diner.
The Altoona-based chain opened its first Philadelphia-area store in Limerick Township in February and is also pursuing locations in Downingtown and Chadds Ford. Sheetz did not provide a timeline for the Hatfield project.
The Zoto family said customers had come to feel like family over the years. “Your dedication and devotion mean the world to us,” the owners said of their employees.