Frank Pepe's opened on Wooster Street in New Haven in 1925. Thirteen years later, a family member opened Sally's Apizza three doors down. They have not stopped competing since.
That rivalry running for a century across two coal-fired ovens on the same block is now a legitimate driver of Avelo Airlines flights into Tweed-New Haven Airport. Here is why it matters, what the pizza is actually like, and how to plan the trip.
What Is Avelo Airlines and Why Does It Fly Into New Haven
Avelo Airlines is a low-cost US carrier founded in 2021 with a specific strategy: serve underserved mid-size airports rather than compete for gates at overcrowded hubs. New Haven's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) fits that model exactly.
New Haven is Avelo's largest single base. The airline has positioned nine aircraft at HVN and currently operates 31 nonstop routes from the airport more nonstop routes than any other carrier in Connecticut. Since launching at Tweed in November 2021, Avelo has flown more than 2.8 million customers on over 20,000 flights from HVN.
That scale did not happen because New Haven is a major business travel market. It happened, at least in part, because food tourism to Wooster Street is real, measurable, and growing. In other words, the pizza is doing real marketing work for the airline.
Why HVN Works Better Than Other Connecticut Airports
Tweed sits 15 minutes from Wooster Street by rideshare. It is a fraction of the size of Hartford's Bradley International no long terminal walks, no crowds, no competition for the exits. Travelers flying in specifically for pizza have found that HVN's convenience is part of the appeal much the same way Philadelphia's airport proximity to Pat's and Geno's made that food trip so easy to pull off.
Additionally, Avelo's fares into HVN are among the lowest available from major East Coast cities. One-way fares from Florida, the Carolinas, and the Mid-Atlantic regularly open below $79. For a day trip built around two pizzerias, that math works.
The 100-Year Pizza Feud That Fills Avelo Flights
Frank Pepe's and Sally's Apizza are not just famous restaurants. They are, by any reasonable measure, the two most argued-about pizzerias in the United States. The feud between their respective loyalists has been running longer than most airlines have existed.
Understanding why requires understanding what New Haven apizza actually is and why it cannot be replicated anywhere else.
What Makes New Haven Apizza Different
New Haven apizza pronounced "ah-beets" in the local Neapolitan dialect is a distinct regional style. It is not New York pizza. It is not Neapolitan pizza. It is its own thing, shaped by coal-fired ovens, thinner-than-thin crust, and a char that no gas oven can replicate.
The crust blisters and darkens at the edges in a way that reads as burnt to people expecting soft dough. It is not burnt. That char is, in fact, the product of ovens running at temperatures that can exceed 1,000°F. It is also the reason the pizza exists only here because nobody has successfully built a replica outside the Wooster Street tradition.
By default, a New Haven plain pizza comes with only tomato sauce and Parmesan. Mozzarella is an added topping, not the baseline. That detail surprises visitors from every other pizza tradition in the country.
Frank Pepe's: The Original Since 1925
Frank Pepe arrived in New Haven from Maiori, Italy, established Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Wooster Street on June 16, 1925, and in the formative years employed a small crew of relatives including his nephew Salvatore Consiglio, who after learning the pizza trade from his uncle Frank, opened his own shop down Wooster Street, still known today as Sally's Apizza.
That single sentence contains the entire origin of the feud. The man who opened Sally's learned everything he knew from Frank Pepe.
Pepe's signature pie is the White Clam Pizza clams harvested from the Long Island Sound and the shores of Massachusetts, shucked daily, laid over olive oil, garlic, oregano, and pecorino on a crust baked in a 14-by-14-foot coal-fired brick oven at 650°F. The Guardian named it the best pizza on earth in 2009. The Daily Meal named it the best pizza in the country in both 2013 and 2014.
In 2025, Pepe's celebrated its centennial. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said Frank Pepe's had "put New Haven on the map," and the intersection of Brown and Wooster Streets was renamed "Frank and Filomena Pepe Corner" in a city ceremony. That is the kind of civic weight that draws flights.
Sally's Apizza: The Rival Since 1938
Sally's Apizza was founded by Salvatore "Sally" Consiglio in 1938. Sally's mother Filomena purchased a restaurant with a bread oven on Wooster Street and tasked Sally to operate it as a pizzeria. The purchase price was $500.
Sally's runs a thinner, chewier crust than Pepe's. The tomato sauce is sharper and more acidic. The char pattern differs too Pepe's burns heavier at the rim, Sally's distributes it more evenly across the base.
For decades, Sally's operated on a strict first-come, first-served basis with no reservations and no apologies for the wait. Lines stretched down Wooster Street on weekend evenings. That reputation the idea that the pizza was worth whatever wait it demanded became part of the brand. Since being acquired by Lineage Hospitality in 2018, Sally's has expanded to multiple Connecticut and Massachusetts locations. Nevertheless, the original Wooster Street location remains the one people fly in for.
Frank Pepe's | Sally's Apizza | |
Founded | 1925 | 1938 |
Address | 157 Wooster St, New Haven | 237 Wooster St, New Haven |
Oven type | Coal-fired brick | Coal-fired brick |
Signature pie | White Clam Pizza | Tomato pie |
Crust style | Thin, heavy rim char | Thin, even char |
Hours | Mon–Thu 11:30am–10pm, Fri–Sun 11am–11pm | Mon–Sun 11am–9/10pm |
Reservations | No | New locations yes; Wooster St walk-in |
Both are within a 3-minute walk of each other on Wooster Street. Most visitors eat at both on the same trip. That is not a coincidence it is the point.
Avelo Airlines New Haven: Routes, Fares, and What to Expect
Booking flights to New Haven on Avelo is different from booking a major carrier. The experience starts at a smaller airport and ends closer to where you actually want to be.
Where Avelo Flies Into HVN From
Avelo currently operates 31 nonstop routes from Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), with service from cities including Jacksonville, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, and Portland, Maine, in addition to its existing Florida, Carolina, and Mid-Atlantic routes. The full current route map is published directly on Avelo's official newsroom. For pizza-focused travelers, the most useful departure cities are:
Departure City | One-Way Fare From | Nonstop | Flight Time |
Raleigh-Durham (RDU) | $49–$89 | Yes | 1h 25m |
Orlando (MCO) | $59–$99 | Yes | 2h 30m |
Tampa (TPA) | $59–$99 | Yes | 2h 25m |
Atlanta (ATL) | $72–$120 | Yes | 2h 15m |
Charlotte (CLT) | $62–$99 | Yes | 1h 40m |
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | $89–$140 | Yes | 3h 45m |
Jacksonville (JAX) | $49–$89 | Yes | 2h 10m |
Fares reflect Avelo published introductory and typical ranges. Prices vary by booking window and season.
What Avelo's HVN Experience Is Actually Like
Tweed-New Haven Airport recently opened a new terminal. It is compact, modern, and genuinely fast to move through. There is no 45-minute walk from gate to curb. Baggage claim is close. Rideshare pickup is immediate.
Avelo ranked number one in on-time performance with an 85% on-time arrival rate, and achieved the lowest flight cancellation rate in the industry, cancelling just 0.5% of its flights. For a day trip where the itinerary depends on arriving on schedule, that reliability matters more than it does on a leisure vacation with flexible plans.
However, Avelo does charge for carry-on bags. That fee structure is not unique to Avelo it is the standard low-cost model, and understanding how basic economy fees work across US carriers helps set realistic expectations before you book. Budget the baggage fee into your fare comparison before assuming the base price reflects your actual cost.
Best Pizza in New Haven Beyond the Rivalry
Wooster Street is the center of New Haven's pizza identity, but it is not the whole story. Several other shops have earned reputations that locals argue belong in the same conversation.
Modern Apizza
Modern Apizza on State Street opened in 1934 and is routinely cited alongside Pepe's and Sally's as the third pillar of New Haven pizza. It tends to attract less tourist attention than its Wooster Street rivals consequently, waits are shorter. The Italian Bomb sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and peppers is the menu item that regulars order without looking at anything else.
Bar
Bar on Crown Street is a brewpub that makes a mashed potato pizza that sounds implausible and tastes better than it has any right to. Moreover, it operates later than Pepe's and Sally's, which makes it a natural third stop on a late-evening itinerary.
Shop | Address | Best Known For | Founded |
Frank Pepe's | 157 Wooster St | White Clam Pizza | 1925 |
Sally's Apizza | 237 Wooster St | Tomato pie, char | 1938 |
Modern Apizza | 874 State St | Italian Bomb | 1934 |
Bar | 254 Crown St | Mashed potato pizza | 1991 |
How to Plan an Avelo Airlines New Haven Pizza Trip
The trip works as a day visit from Florida, the Carolinas, and the Mid-Atlantic, and as an overnight from Texas or the Midwest. The logistics are straightforward once you understand the HVN geography.
Flight Timing That Works
Morning arrivals from Raleigh, Orlando, and Tampa land at HVN between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. That timing is ideal Pepe's opens at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays, which means a traveler landing at 10 a.m. can rideshare to Wooster Street and be at the counter within the first 30 minutes of service.
Evening return flights from HVN depart through 9 p.m. on most Avelo routes. As a result, a traveler arriving at 10 a.m. and departing at 8 p.m. has a full 10 hours in New Haven enough time to eat at Pepe's, Sally's, and Modern Apizza without rushing any of them.
What the Full Trip Costs
Round-trip Avelo fare from Raleigh or Jacksonville: $98–$178
Round-trip fare from Atlanta or Charlotte: $124–$240
Rideshare from HVN to Wooster Street: $12–$18 each way
White Clam Pizza at Pepe's (medium): $24–$28
Tomato pie at Sally's (medium): $20–$24
Total day trip from Raleigh: $160–$260
For travelers connecting through Avelo's network from smaller markets, New Haven is one of the easiest food tourism destinations to reach at low cost. If you want to understand why budget carriers like Avelo price routes so differently from legacy airlines, the breakdown of why Frontier keeps fares this low applies directly to how Avelo structures its HVN pricing.
Getting From HVN to Wooster Street
Wooster Street is approximately 3 miles from Tweed-New Haven Airport. A rideshare takes 10–12 minutes and costs $12–$18 depending on time of day. There is no direct public transit connection, but the ride is short enough that a car is not necessary.
HVN to Wooster Street: 10–12 minutes, $12–$18 rideshare
Wooster Street parking: metered street parking available, limited on weekends
Pepe's to Sally's on foot: 3-minute walk
Wooster Street to Modern Apizza (State St): $8–$10 rideshare, 5 minutes
Surge pricing at HVN is uncommon given the airport's size. Booking a rideshare 10 minutes before you land typically works without issue.
When to Book Avelo Flights to New Haven
Avelo's HVN fares follow a predictable seasonal pattern. Knowing when to book makes the trip noticeably cheaper.
Late winter and early spring January through April offer the lowest fares on most Avelo routes into HVN. That window also happens to coincide with shorter waits at Pepe's and Sally's. Specifically, a March visit means no summer tourist lines and a reasonable shot at a table at Modern Apizza without waiting.
Peak pricing runs from late June through August, driven by Yale University summer programs, general New England tourism, and the concentration of food tourism activity in the warmer months. Summer fares on Avelo routes into HVN typically run 30–50% above the winter equivalents.
Booking 3–5 weeks out is the sweet spot for Avelo fares. Furthermore, Avelo's no-change-fee policy means booking early carries less risk than it does on carriers with rigid fare rules. If your plans shift, adjusting the date costs nothing beyond any fare difference. For context on why airline prices move the way they do, how AI dynamic pricing works explains the mechanics behind the swings you see on any fare calendar.
Conclusion
Frank Pepe's opened in 1925. Sally's opened in 1938. Between them, they have been producing the most argued-about pizza in the country for nearly a century. That argument is now filling Avelo Airlines flights into New Haven from 31 nonstop destinations.
The case for making the trip is straightforward. Avelo's fares into HVN are among the most competitive available from the East Coast and Southeast. The airport, moreover, is 12 minutes from Wooster Street. The pizza cannot be replicated anywhere else. A morning flight, a medium White Clam Pizza, a tomato pie from Sally's, and an evening return is all this trip requires.
For more aviation guides, airline news, and route coverage, visit Air Gazette.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Avelo Airlines and is it reliable?
Avelo Airlines is a US low-cost carrier founded in 2021 that focuses on smaller, underserved airports. It ranked first in on-time performance with an 85% on-time arrival rate and the lowest flight cancellation rate in the industry at 0.5%. For day trip planning, that reliability is a genuine advantage.
Does Avelo fly to New Haven?
Yes. Avelo Airlines operates Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN) as its largest base, with 31 nonstop routes from cities across the East Coast, Southeast, and Texas. New Haven is Avelo's biggest hub by aircraft count, with nine Boeing 737s based there.
What is New Haven apizza and why is it different from regular pizza?
New Haven apizza is a regional style baked in coal-fired brick ovens at extremely high temperatures, producing a thin, charred crust that no gas oven can replicate. By default it comes with only tomato sauce and Parmesan mozzarella is an optional topping, not a baseline ingredient. The style originated with Frank Pepe's in 1925.
What is the feud between Frank Pepe's and Sally's Apizza?
Frank Pepe's opened in 1925. Sally's was opened in 1938 by Salvatore Consiglio, who learned the pizza trade working for his uncle Frank Pepe. They have operated within three doors of each other on Wooster Street ever since. The rivalry between their loyalists over which makes the superior apizza has never been resolved and probably never will be.
How far is Tweed-New Haven Airport from the pizza restaurants?
Tweed-New Haven Airport is approximately 3 miles from Wooster Street. A rideshare takes 10–12 minutes and costs $12–$18. There is no direct public transit connection, but the ride is short and surge pricing at HVN is uncommon.
What is the best pie to order at Frank Pepe's?
The White Clam Pizza is the signature and the reason most people make the trip. It uses fresh clams harvested from the Long Island Sound, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and pecorino no tomato sauce, no mozzarella. The Daily Meal named it the best pizza in the country in both 2013 and 2014.
When is the cheapest time to fly Avelo into New Haven?
January through April offers the lowest Avelo fares into HVN and the shortest wait times at the Wooster Street pizzerias. Summer fares run 30–50% higher than winter equivalents. Booking 3–5 weeks in advance hits the sweet spot for fare availability on most Avelo routes.
