Eat your way across PA at these new restaurants coming in 2026

26 Pennsylvania restaurants opening in 2026 that you’ll want to try

Pennsylvania foodies will want to mark their calendars for these 2026 restaurant openings! (Alex Haney/Unsplash)

By Kalena Thomhave

January 2, 2026

With a new year comes new places to eat. Check out 26 spots coming to Pennsylvania in 2026.

When I take my dog for walks, I like peering into the empty storefronts in our neighborhood’s business district, hoping to spot signs of a new restaurant on the way. This year, I’ve taken my habit statewide—metaphorically—to see what eateries are coming to Pennsylvania in 2026. While plenty of surprise openings are surely in store, the following restaurants have already announced plans to debut next year. Along with a slate of brand-new restaurants, you’ll also find familiar favorites expanding with additional locations, bringing their food to more communities. Here’s to a 2026 filled with good eating!

Recipe Philly – Philadelphia

Recipe Philly, a new restaurant set to open in Philadelphia’s Center City in spring 2026, will combine an eatery with a cooking competition. Dishes at the restaurant will be based on recipes created by amateur chefs, who will also share the stories behind their food as part of the contest to choose the restaurant menu. In fact, the selection process will be filmed as part of a docuseries about the new concept, and the winners will receive cash prizes, their photos on the restaurant menu, and free dining privileges for life.

Three new Schulson Collective restaurants – Philadelphia

Philadelphia restaurateur Michael Schulson, who owns 13 restaurants in Philly, is reportedly planning to open three new restaurants in the city in 2026. While Schulson hasn’t given any details about the new eateries, fans of other restaurants in the Schulson Collective—which include Double Knot, Sampen, and Alpen Rose—will want to keep an eye on Schulson’s moves.

Eat your way across PA at these new restaurants coming in 2026 — Diners enjoy Schulson Collective restaurant Double Knot in Philadelphia’s Center City. (J. Fusco/Visit Philadelphia)

Nowa – Allentown

Nowa is a long-awaited Allentown concept that, in the restaurant’s words, “combines the comfort of American fare with the expansive flavor profiles of the Mediterranean.” The upscale, full-service restaurant was originally set to open in 2025 as the first tenant of the new Allentown development, The Waterfront, but its opening has been pushed to 2026. In the meantime, Nowa has hosted ticketed dinner experiences for guests to get a taste of the restaurant in advance of its official opening.

Special Blends Café by JPII – Reading

Special Blends Café by JPII, a project of the John Paul II Center for Special Learning, is a new cafe coming to Reading that will employ students and adults with special needs, helping them gain valuable work experience they can then use in their future endeavors. The innovative cafe will operate within Alvernia University’s American House location in downtown Reading, the neighborhood where almost half of JPII students live. Special Blends Café by JPII is planned to open in June 2026.

The Valley Bar and Grill – Sinking Spring

A new sports bar, the Valley Bar & Grill, is opening in Sinking Spring in January 2026. The new spot takes over the space previously occupied by the longtime Sinking Spring restaurant Bar-B-Q Pit. Follow the Valley Bar & Grill’s Facebook page for updates on menu plans and the official opening date.

Drunken Chicken – West Reading

Drunken Chicken is a new Korean fried chicken restaurant coming to West Reading in 2026. The eatery is set to open in the former Takkii Ramen location, which rebranded as West Brew Izakaya and moved to Penn Ave in September. Follow Drunken Chicken’s Facebook page for updates.

Coney Island Lunch – Scranton

The revamp of the beloved, century-old Coney Island Lunch restaurant in Scranton is expected to wrap in early 2026, when the hot dog spot reopens along with an adjacent ice cream parlor. The developer overseeing the project promises that the revival will merely add to the charm of the original Coney Island Lunch, which opened in Scranton in 1923.

Ezzy Eats – Lancaster

Fans of the Lancaster-area Mexican food truck Ezzy Eats will no longer have to scout the truck’s location to grab its authentic tacos and burritos. In spring 2026, Ezzy Eats is opening a brick-and-mortar location at Lancaster outlet shopping center, the Shops at Rockvale.

Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar – Hershey

Hershey Entertainment and Resorts is introducing a new restaurant, Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar, in “the Sweetest Place on Earth.” The new downtown eatery, which replaces Houlihan’s and opens in spring 2026, “will bring bold flavors, signature cocktails and over-the-top desserts inspired by Hershey’s chocolate roots,” according to a press release. Diners can expect a casual atmosphere as well as an expanded bar.

Pay-What-You-Can Restaurant – Harrisburg

Thrive Housing Services, a nonprofit in Harrisburg, is planning to open an innovative restaurant concept in the city in the fall of 2026. The restaurant will be entirely based on a “pay-what-you-can” system, so that “neighbors from all social-economic backgrounds can dine together,” per the nonprofit’s vision for the space. The space will also include permanent housing units above the restaurant and career development opportunities for young adults in need. Thrive is currently fundraising to make the restaurant a reality.

Butcher and the Rye – Pittsburgh

After a long hiatus, upscale whiskey bar Butcher and the Rye is set to officially return to the city at the start of 2026. The celebrated bar closed during the pandemic and reopened to host various pop-up bars over the years. It’s now coming back, and the creative food menu will return as well.

Isaly’s – Pittsburgh

Regional brand Isaly’s, famous for its signature chipped chopped ham—not to mention its creation of the Klondike Bar—is set to open a vintage-inspired shop in Pittsburgh’s Strip District in 2026. Guests can look forward to an experience like that of Isaly’s original stores, with classic menu items such as skyscraper cones, homemade ice cream bars, and, of course, lots of chipped-chopped ham.

La Grassa Pizza – Pittsburgh

La Grassa Pizza has been serving thick, Detroit-style corner pizza slices (and only corner slices) to great acclaim at pop-ups throughout Pittsburgh, but it will get a brick-and-mortar place of its own in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood in 2026.

Muns Pizza – Pittsburgh

Muns Pizza is well known for its Monday (Munsday) installation at Allegheny City Brewing, but soon you’ll be able to grab a pie from Muns’ brick-and-mortar shop. The well-loved pop-up is opening its permanent space on Pittsburgh’s North Side in early 2026.

Penn Avenue Pizza & Steaks – Pittsburgh

Penn Avenue Pizza & Steaks—serving, of course, pizza and cheesesteaks—will soon open where Lawrenceville meets Bloomfield, occupying the corner restaurant space that previously held Black Lotus Pizza.

Titusz – Pittsburgh

Eagerly awaited Hungarian restaurant Titusz is set to open in Lawrenceville “very, very soon,” according to a recent Instagram post. The restaurant team is hopeful to open before the end of 2025—but hey, things happen, so I’m including Titusz on this list just in case.

Existing restaurants opening additional locations in 2026

Your favorite restaurant or cafe may be adding another location close to you.

EMei – South Philly

Celebrated Sichuan restaurant EMei will open a second location in South Philly in the former Marra’s Pizza space, set to debut in summer 2026 or later.

Buttery Bryn Mawr – Bryn Mawr

Buttery Bryn Mawr, a project of Malvern Buttery, is a cafe and bakery set to open in Bryn Mawr in early 2026.

Dim Sum Factory – Bryn Mawr

Dim Sum Factory will soon serve its traditional Shanghai- and Cantonese-style dim sum at a new Bryn Mawr location.

ANEU Kitchens – Valley Forge

ANEU Kitchens, a healthy breakfast and lunch spot, will add a cafe location within the historic Maurice Stephens House at Valley Forge Historic Park in winter 2026.

Denim Coffee – Downtown Harrisburg

Harrisburg coffee shop and roaster Denim Coffee will open a new location in early 2026 in the city’s downtown Menaker Building.

Atria’s – Pittsburgh’s Strip District

Pittsburgh’s Atria’s will open a new location in the Strip District in the first half of 2026.

Juniper Grill – Pittsburgh’s Strip District

Pittsburgh’s Juniper Grill, owned by the same restaurant group as Atria’s, will also open a new location in the Strip District within the first half of 2026. Atria’s and Juniper Grill will share a kitchen.