Zoto's Diner Closes After 53 Years, Sheetz Wants the Land

Zoto's Diner closed October 25 at 1100 Bethlehem Pike in Line Lexington, Hatfield Township, after nearly 53 years. Steve and JoAnne Zoto opened it with Steve's brother Nick in 1973. Their daughter Nikki Cassidy runs the floor as general manager, but neither she nor her brother Jason, a lawyer in Hawaii, wanted to take over the business.

The Zotos weren't shopping the property. An unsolicited offer came in, and Steve, turning 80 in February, said the land is worth more than the business at this point. The four acre site sits along Route 309 at the Montgomery and Bucks county line, and Sheetz is already in front of Hatfield's commissioners with plans for a 6,139 square foot convenience store with fuel pumps and a drive through. The township's planning commission has recommended approval, and Sheetz still needs final sign off from local and state regulators.

This is the version of a vacancy that never hits LoopNet. A family runs a business until retirement, gets one unsolicited call, and the deal is done before a broker ever lists the site. If you're holding land on a county line corridor with highway frontage, that's the buyer profile to know is circling, gas and convenience chains pay for exposure and curb cuts, not for what's currently sitting on the parcel.