Senape’s Tavern in Hazleton: The Birthplace of “Pitza,” Scamutz Cheese, and One of NEPA’s Most Iconic Pizza Stories

There aren’t many pizzerias in NEPA that come with their own dictionary entry — but Senape’s Tavern in Hazleton does.

This is the place that gave Hazleton the word “pitza.” The home of scamutz cheese. The keeper of a marinara sauce that’s been used in the family kitchen for nearly 100 years.

I finally made it down for a proper review, and the experience was exactly what I hoped it would be — a piece of NEPA pizza history you can taste in every bite.

As always, I walked in, ordered, paid the bill, and reviewed the pitza like every other customer. No heads-up. No comps.

Why Hazleton Calls It “Pitza”

If you’ve ever driven through Hazleton and wondered why a few signs spell pizza with a T instead of a ZZ — there’s a real story behind it, and it starts at Senape’s Bakery in the 1930s.

In 1933, Charlie Senape asked a worker to make a sign advertising their pizza. The worker misspelled it as “pitza” — and the spelling stuck.

By 1939, Senape’s had shortened it even further to “pitz” in their advertisements, and other restaurants and taverns in the area followed suit.

But Senape’s Tavern held onto the original misspelling. To this day, “pitza” lives on as a piece of Hazleton’s local culture — and it’s right there on the sign every time you walk in.

A spelling error became a brand identity. A brand identity became a regional dialect. Only in NEPA.

What Is Scamutz Cheese?

Before we get into the pies, you need to know about scamutz — because you can’t talk about Senape’s without it.

Scamutz is the local Hazleton name for a hand-made, fresh, semi-soft Italian-style cheese, similar to the more widely known scamorza.

I understand Senape’s has their own Scamutz process, but here’s the quick general overview on the cheese:

• Type: Fresh, semi-soft, stretched-curd cheese made from cow’s milk
• Origin: A local Hazleton brand made by Cheese Store and More
• Texture: Smooth, pliable, slightly elastic — melts beautifully
• Flavor: Milky and creamy, with a hint of piquancy and a touch of sweetness

How it’s made: Shaped into cubes, dipped in hot water, twisted by hand, then cooled — the kind of process that can’t be faked or factory-replicated

If you took mozzarella and gave it a little more backbone, a little more tang, and a slightly drier pull — that’s scamutz.

A Quick Note on the Senape Family Story

Here’s a fun fact straight from the family: in the early days of the Senape’s journey, romano cheese was used exclusively on their pitza. Not mozzarella. Not scamutz. Romano.

Today, scamutz is the real “bread and butter” of Senape’s Tavern — but romano never left the menu, and you’ll experience that original-recipe flavor on the very first row of the Senapetizer.

That’s the kind of detail that turns a pizzeria into a piece of living history.

The Senapetizer — Senape’s Famous Party Pitza

If you’ve never seen one in person, the Senapetizer is exactly what it sounds like — Senape’s signature party pitza.

It’s a rectangular tray cut into 30 bite-sized squares, with five distinct rows of toppings running across the pie:

• Romano cheese
• Steak and peppers
• Sausage
• Pepperoni
• White with onion and black olives

This thing is over the top and absolutely loaded with toppings. Reviewing it almost feels like reviewing five different pizzas at once.

The Crust That Holds It All Together

The Senapetizer is built on what I’d call a “bakery-style crust” — the same family of crust you’d find at places like Corropolese’s (Philly tomato pie), Tuzzi’s Bakery, and Carmen’s Bakery. (Not to be confused with the unafilliated Senape’s Bakery)

It’s soft, spongy, and baked to a deep golden brown on the bottom. The edges get genuinely crispy, while the interior has that dense, satisfying chew that bakery-style dough is known for.

It’s the perfect base for a pizza this loaded — sturdy enough to handle the topping load, but tender enough to eat all afternoon.

Ranking the 5 Rows of the Senapetizer

I’m doing this the only way that makes sense — best to last.

🥇 1. Romano Cheese

Call me simple, but that romano cheese combined with the savory, rich sauce just hits different.

I’m a plain cheese guy by default, so this being my #1 is no surprise. The romano gets a little crispy on the edges in the oven and brings a sharp, salty richness that pairs perfectly with Senape’s sauce. This is the row I’d order as a full pitza in a heartbeat.

🥈 2. Steak and Peppers

The tenderness of the steak and the sweetness of the peppers matched up beautifully with the cheese and sauce.

Great flavor across the board, and just easy to enjoy — no gimmick, no overthinking, just well-cooked components on a great crust.

🥉 3. Pepperoni

The pepperoni slices crisped up beautifully around the edges and brought a satisfying saltiness that played well with everything else on the tray.

Classic for a reason.

4. White with Onion and Black Olives

I’ll be straight with you — I’m a sauce guy more than most, so white pizza usually isn’t my first pick.

But the onion and seasoning paired really well with the rich cheeses, and the black olives brought a totally different dimension of flavor and texture to the row. It made me appreciate why this combo works on a Senape’s crust specifically.

5. Sausage

Now, I have to be honest about this one.

When I took a peek back in the kitchen and saw the sausage balls in sauce being spooned onto the top of the pitza, I genuinely thought it was baked beans going on the pie!

It turns out it’s sausage pizza topping simmered in tomato sauce — and it’s an interesting, totally unconventional way to apply sausage to a pizza. Messy to eat in the best way.

What I enjoyed most about this row was honestly the creativity. It would have been easy to just crumble cooked sausage and call it a day. They didn’t. They went their own way — which feels very on-brand for Senape’s.

Pizzaiolo’s Notes 🍕

A few things I noticed putting on my pizza maker hat:

Bottom bake on the bakery-style crust was dialed. Even color across the entire tray, no soft spots, no over-baked edges — that takes real oven control on a thick dough like this.

Sauce-to-cheese-to-topping ratios are deliberate. With five different rows to manage, it would be easy for the wetter toppings (sausage, steak) to overwhelm the crust. They don’t.

The romano row tells you everything about how this kitchen thinks. Hard cheeses on a thick bakery crust at high temp can scorch fast. Theirs crisps up to that perfect savory crackle without burning. That’s experience.

The Square Pitza with Scamutz — The Cheese Gets Its Spotlight

After hearing about scamutz for years, I had to order a pitza built around it as the star.

Senape’s Square Pitza with Scamutz is exactly that — their signature bakery-style crust, classic sauce, and a generous layer of hand-pulled scamutz doing the heavy lifting on top.

This is the pizza that shows you why scamutz is the bread and butter of the modern Senape’s menu.

The cheese melts beautifully — that signature smooth, slightly elastic pull with the milky, slightly tangy flavor that gives it more character than a standard mozzarella. It’s not a dramatic, hit-you-over-the-head cheese — it’s a confident, well-mannered one. It plays beautifully with the sauce, doesn’t grease out, and the firmer texture means it holds up to the bake without going rubbery.

If you’re a cheese-first pizza eater, this is the one to order at Senape’s. It’s a love letter to the local cheese tradition.

The Connie — Senape’s Newest Pitza

The third pie I came in for was their newest creation: The Connie.

This one is special before you even take a bite, because of who it’s named after.

The Story Behind The Connie

The Connie is named in honor of Congetta “Connie” Senape — the wife of the second-generation owner, Tom Senape’s grandmother.

The thick and heavy marinara sauce that tops this pitza is her own recipe, used at Senape’s for over 75 years — going on nearly 100 years in the family kitchen.

When you’re putting a sauce that old on a brand-new pitza, you don’t just give it a generic name. You name it after the woman who made it. That’s exactly what they did.

The Pitza Itself

The Connie is Senape’s take on a grandma-style pitza, built on Senape’s signature crust with a blend of scamutz and freshly grated mozzarella, plenty of seasoning, fresh basil, and topped with Connie’s marinara.

The centerpiece is exactly what’s advertised — heavy-duty dollops of thick, heavy marinara sauce on every single slice.

That sauce is slightly sweet with a clean, balanced tang — not a smooth, ladled-on layer, but substantial spoonfuls that sit right on top and bake into the cheese.

A sprinkle of shredded romano on top gives it richness and texture, and that romano does what romano does best on a Senape’s pie — crisps up in the oven and elevates everything underneath it.

This is a grandma pitza with a real grandma behind it.

What I’d Order Next Time

• 🍕 A full tray of the Romano Cheese pitza (the Senapetizer’s #1 row in standalone form, please)
• 🧀 The Square Pitza with Scamutz — again, no question
• ❤️ The Connie — for the story alone, it earns a return trip

Final Thoughts on Senape’s Tavern

Some pizzerias make great pizza. A few make great pizza and great history at the same time. Senape’s is firmly in the second group.

My Takeaways:

• 📜 Senape’s is the literal origin of “pitza” — a 1930s spelling error turned into a piece of Hazleton dialect that’s still alive today
• 🧀 Scamutz cheese is a Hazleton original, and the Square Pitza with Scamutz is the best way to experience it
• 🎉 The Senapetizer is a NEPA pizza event — five rows, 30 cuts, and one of the most fun party pies in the region
• 🥇 The Romano Cheese row is a sleeper masterpiece — order it as a full pitza if you can
• ❤️ The Connie is a tribute pie done right — built on a real family recipe with nearly 100 years of history behind it
• 🏛️ Senape’s belongs in the conversation when people talk about the most historically important pizzerias in NEPA

Have You Been to Senape’s?

If you’ve made the trip to Senape’s Tavern in Hazleton, I want to hear from you:

👉 What’s your go-to row on the Senapetizer?
👉 Team scamutz or team romano?

Drop it in the comments — let’s talk pitza 🍕

Want to know what the best pizza sauce is? I tested, ranked, and scored them all! Here are my Pizza Sauce Rankings!

Rating the Senapetizer

• Restaurant: Senape’s Tavern Pitza
• Address: 835 N Vine St, Hazleton, PA 18201
• Dine In/Take Out: Dine In
• Pizza Ordered: The Senapetizer (30-cut Party Pitza)
• Date: October 2025

Rating Category	Rating Score
Crust	7.6
Sauce	7.6
Cheese	7.8
Taste	8.2
Crispy/Cooked Properly	7.7
Value	7.7
Overall Rating	7.8

Rating of Senape’s Tavern’s Senapetizer Party Pitza

Pizza is Similar to: Corropolese’s (Philly Tomato Pie), Tuzzi’s Bakery, Carmen’s Bakery — all bakery-style crust cousins

Rating the Square Pitza with Scamutz

• Restaurant: Senape’s Tavern Pitza
• Address: 835 N Vine St, Hazleton, PA 18201
• Dine In/Take Out: Dine In
• Pizza Ordered: Square Pitza with Scamutz
• Date: October 2025

Rating Category	Rating Score
Crust	7.7
Sauce	7.7
Cheese	7.9
Taste	7.7
Crispy/Cooked Properly	7.7
Value	7.7
Overall Rating	7.7

Rating of Senape’s Tavern’s Square Pitza with Scamutz

Pizza is Similar to: Senape’s Bakery (Hazleton), Corropolese’s (Philly Tomato Pie), Tuzzi’s Bakery

Rating The Connie

• Restaurant: Senape’s Tavern Pitza
• Address: 835 N Vine St, Hazleton, PA 18201
• Dine In/Take Out: Dine In
• Pizza Ordered: The Connie (Grandma-Style Pitza with Scamutz, Mozzarella, Basil & Connie’s Marinara)
• Date: October 2025

Rating Category	Rating Score
Crust	7.6
Sauce	7.7
Cheese	7.7
Taste	7.6
Crispy/Cooked Properly	7.7
Value	7.7
Overall Rating	7.7

Rating of Senape’s Tavern’s “The Connie” Grandma-Style Pitza