Aila Boyd
Pizza Den, a family-owned Italian-American restaurant that served the Roanoke Valley for more than three decades, closed May 16 at its location at 912 E. Main St.
Owner Jason Booker announced the closure on the restaurant’s social media page, writing that May 16 would be the establishment’s last day of operation and inviting customers to stop by while supplies lasted.
In a video statement, Booker cited a combination of personal health challenges, rising operating costs and shifting economic pressures in Salem as factors in the decision.
“I was diagnosed with diabetes,” Booker said. “With all the craziness it takes to run a restaurant — the stress, good times and bad — these last few years I just have not been able to manage myself well.”
Booker said his health had been declining in recent weeks and months, and that continuing under those conditions posed a risk he was no longer willing to take.
Beyond his personal health, Booker pointed to broader economic headwinds facing small businesses in Salem. He said landlords in the area had significantly raised rents on local tenants, a trend he believes has contributed to a wave of closures across the city.
“A lot of this expense that you’re paying into your food when you eat out has a lot to do with that,” Booker said. “They’re pushing small businesses out.”
He credited his landlord for being reasonable with the restaurant and helping make the current location viable after Pizza Den’s previous space underwent construction. “He’s like the only place we could do it, and he really worked with us, and we cannot thank him enough,” Booker said.
Supply chain disruptions also plagued the restaurant’s later years. Booker said that when the business reopened following the COVID-19 pandemic, core ingredients — including the sauce and flour bases the restaurant had used for 30 years — were no longer available. Some of the brands had gone out of business entirely.
“A lot of people came at first and it wasn’t the same, and just never came back,” he said.
Pizza Den was founded in 1991 by the Moran family, who built it into a neighborhood staple for customers across Salem, Roanoke, Christiansburg and Botetourt County. The restaurant was known for its pizza, its family-friendly arcade and its event hosting, including birthday parties, banquets and Sunday private parties.
Booker framed the closure not as a permanent end but as a pause.
“This doesn’t mean that is the end,” he said. “We just needed, with everything going on, to take a pause and regroup and figure out what we wanted going forward.”
