NORWALK – At first, Sally’s Apizza was joining the glitzy downtown SoNo collection mall in 2019.
But the debut of the iconic New Haven “ahbeetz” brand was delayed, initially to late 2024 and then to “late spring” 2025, due to what Sally’s COO Ted Zeiselsperger described to CT Insider as manufacturing and supply chain delays.
But spring turned to summer last year, and while the restaurant space is still vacant and covered in signage, Sale has opened six other locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts and unveiled a business plan that will see it open 250 stores nationwide in its quest to become the self-described “Chipotle of pizza.”
By October 2025, there were many promises. The restaurant was then slated to open in Norwalk in the first quarter of 2026, complete with “a large programmable 4K video wall with a large tree in the middle and seating in the dining room.”
Conceptual rendering of the upcoming Sally’s Apizza location in Norwalk. (Courtesy of Sally’s Apizza)
While the tree may still be planted, the restaurant doesn’t appear to be opening anytime soon: In January of this year, the owner and developer of SoNo Collection sued Sally’s, accusing the pizzeria of owing the mall and three contractors more than $3.8 million.
As of Wednesday, Sally had not filed a response to the lawsuit through its parent company, Lineage Hospitality.
“Sally has been in contact with Landlord regarding this filing since the beginning of the year,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “These claims do not reflect Sally’s understanding of the agreement with the landlord and their shared goal of opening a restaurant in the SoNo collection in 2026.”
A spokesman for General Growth Properties, the developer of the SoNo Collection, which is now owned by Brookfield Properties Retail, declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.
A pizza comes out of the oven at Sally’s Epizza in New Haven in a file photo. (Lisa Nichols/Hearst for Connecticut Media)
According to the lawsuit, Sally owes her landlord more than $1.56 million for a lease she originally signed in August 2019.
Legal filings say Sally’s is in default on its lease if it doesn’t open its store by Oct. 31, 2023, and must pay a $700-per-day late fee for each day starting Jan. 1, 2024, that the space was not used. Those late fees, totaling $500,000, are in addition to just shy of $1 million allegedly paid in unpaid rent and other expenses.
The lawsuit and attached default notices indicate that Sally was first served with a default notice on November 24, 2025, at which point it was given 10 days to pay an amount of approximately $1 million ($990,906.34 to be exact) and failed to do so.
A second default notice was sent on December 12, 2025, for an additional $498,400 in “liquidated damages” for unpaid rent and daily late fees. Sally didn’t pay that fee, either, the lawsuit claims.
Large and medium pizzas at Sally’s Pizza in New Haven, file photo. (Lisa Nichols for Hearst CT Media)
In addition to the money Sally says it owes the mall, the company has accused three contractors of being on the hook for more than $2.2 million, which the mall is unwilling to pay.
Those three charges, all filed as mechanics’ liens (charges against property owners), are allegedly for work done by subcontractors that Sally didn’t pay for.
According to the lease filed in the lawsuit, Sally is legally responsible for making sure the liens are “released, discharged, or bonded,” in effect, requiring them to be paid so they aren’t charged to the mall.
The three liens in question are:
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$1,558,533.44 Filed October 29, 2025 by Englewood Construction, Inc.
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$666,455.24 Filed on September 18, 2025 by Eastern Mechanical Services.
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$17,946.00 (Notice of Intent to File Rights) Filed August 26, 2025 by Nations Roof of New England.
“In violation of the terms of the warranty, and despite repeated demands, Lineage has failed and refused to pay Norwalk Land Development rent, liquidated damages and other amounts from Sally to Norwalk Land Development,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit alleges the amount of unpaid rent — a total of $1,568,634.82 — is a breach of the lease. The plaintiff is also seeking “interest, costs, and the like and such further relief as this court deems appropriate,” the lawsuit notes.
Sally’s location at the SoNo Collection is still listed on the Sally’s and SoNo Collection websites.
This article was originally published Sally’s Apizza sued for $3.8 million over delays at Norwalk’s SoNo Collection mall.
