New Haven’s famed Sally’s Apizza for sale Sally’s up for sale — if the price is right

NEW HAVEN >> A major slice of New Haven is for sale at the right price.

Bob Consiglio, who owns Sally’s Apizza on Wooster Street with his brother, Rick, and sister, Ruth, confirmed that the family has had multiple offers since soon after their mother, Flora Consiglio, died in 2012.

But don’t fret, Sally’s aficionados.

“Sally’s is not going anywhere...” Consiglio said.

“There are a few (offers) that look very good and promising,” he said, but there is no single deal on the table at this point.

Discussions on the price are a closely kept secret, but some following the potential sale say they ranged from $1 million to $2 million.

“There have been inquiries and there have been offers, but nothing that has gone as far as having contracts drawn up,” Bob Consiglio said Tuesday.

Consiglio said “being Americans, everything is for sale,” should the right offer come along.

A vintage photo of the late Flo and Salvatore “Sally” Consiglio of Sally’s Apizza. A vintage photo of the late Flo and Salvatore “Sally” Consiglio of Sally’s Apizza. Photo: Journal Register Co. Photo: Journal Register Co. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close New Haven’s famed Sally’s Apizza for sale 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

He said there have been all kinds of rumors about the iconic pizzeria, none of which are true.

“I’ve heard that we’re just shutting down. I’ve heard that Modern Apizza bought us. I heard that we’re merging with Pepe’s,” he said,

If or when they do sell, he said, “I’ll be there. Me and my brother are the only ones my dad ever showed how to do what he did.”

At some point, “there might be something” and “we might sell,” Consiglio said. “Nothing’s for certain in this world.”

The pizzeria was founded in 1938 by Flora “Flo” Consiglio and her husband, Salvatore “Sally” Consiglio.

Flo, the matriarch of the family-owned business, died in September 2012; Sal died in 1989.

The question in New Haven has always been whether you were a Sally’s fan or a devotee of Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, another pizzeria on Wooster Street, which now has several additional location in Connecticut, along with one in Yonkers, N.Y. and others on the way in the Boston area.

“There obviously is a great deal of interest (in the sale), as there should be,” a person close to the negotiations said.

A neighborhood institution, the Consiglios owned the corner lot at Olive and Wooster streets, which was named in honor of Sal Consiglio, with the name expanded after Flo’s passing to memorialize them both.

It’s the kind of iconic place — never updated — that has served generations of New Haven-area families in New Haven’s Little Italy area.

The transaction is said to be at a “delicate stage,” but could be closer to a deal in a few weeks’ time, according to a source.

Matthew Nemerson, the city’s economic development administrator, said “we can’t begrudge the Consiglio family monetizing the hard work of their parents.”

He said the city has seen Pepe’s expand across New England and Modern is now a brand emblazoned on T-shirts and other memorabilia.

“I think we have to face the reality that New Haven pizza has become a global iconic product,” Nemerson said.

He said the most popular pizza in Washington, D.C., is Pete’s New Haven Style Apizza.

“Many great businesses don’t go generation to generation. They go to new owners,” Nemerson said.

He hopes it means there will continue to be many Sally’s in the future, keeping this unique New Haven identity alive.

Flo Consiglio always sat in the same booth near the pizzeria’s famed ovens where they turn out their thin-crust pie. There she greeted old customers and always remembered to ask about the children of those loyal fans who may have moved away.

It was a place where returning college students would be sure to stop by when they were home for Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations.

Call Mary E. O’Leary at 203-789-5731. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.