Lois Zucker, owner of Lee’s Hoagie House – a neighborhood institution. (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local)

Lee’s Hoagie House, a Walnut Street institution on the west edge of Penn’s campus for 28 years, is closing for good tonight at 10 p.m.

Lee’s owner, Lois Zucker, is retiring and a new restaurant is moving into the space at 4034 Walnut, which is owned by Campus Apartments.

Lois has run the business on her own since her husband Jan died 14 years ago. “He was the heart and soul of this business,” she said.

Lee’s is a licensed chain that once had several independently owned shops. Lois and Jan opened the Walnut Street location in September, 1985. Its closing leaves only two Lee’s shops left in the city. The rest are in the suburbs.

A possibility remained that Lee’s would stay open under another owner. But Campus Apartments, which owns the Lee’s property and is one of West Philly’s biggest landlords, “wanted a change” for the storefront location, a valuable property on a block that has nearly exclusively student housing, Lois said. The potential buyer of the Lee’s license is scouting other locations in the neighborhood.

It remains unclear when the new restaurant, which will specialize in chicken dishes and “savory pies,” will open. There will be extensive renovation to the space.

The Zuckers built their shop around the area’s student presence and Lois said that students returned to the shop long after they graduated.

“The kids now come back with their own kids,” she said.

Lee’s also delivered subs via Fed Ex to Philadelphians or Penn students who had moved out of the region. She recalled sending two hoagies to a woman in Texas who was pregnant.

“She said all she wanted was tuna hoagies from Lee’s,” Lois said.

So there are just a few hours left to get a Lee’s hoagie in the neighborhood. Be sure to thank Lois. She’s the one in the green Lee’s t-shirt and ever-present white apron.

By the way, they don’t have any of their iconic t-shirts left to buy. We asked.

– Mike Lyons