For a restaurant company that operates more than 130 locations in six states, the opening of a shop inside a convenience store might seem routine. But the Aug. 7 ribbon cutting for Sal’s Pizza at Klemm’s Mobil in Salem, NH, was a homecoming for CEO Sal Lupoli.

While Sal’s Pizza has operated a production facility on North Broadway for 30 years, the flagship store Sal and his brother Nick opened in 1990 burned down and did not reopen.

“It’s been about 10 years, and we’re so excited to be back,” the East Boston native said as business associates, friends and family members huddled inside the store near Tuscan Village. Servers weaved through the crowd, handing out free slices of cheese and pepperoni.

Lupoli recalled those early years during an interview before the group gathered outside for speeches.

“I was still in college when I found the location with my father. And that location turned out to be the beginning of something special with Sal’s Pizza today,” Lupoli said. “We rented 780 square feet. We didn’t have a lot of money. My father and mother took a third mortgage on the home. I sold my car. I paid 17% interest for equipment.”

Lupoli wanted to buy the pizza shop as a bridge to buying real estate.

“My dad thought it would be a good idea to be owner occupied. And he was right. We’re so fortunate today in the real estate business,” said Lupoli, whose business employs about 1,200 people.

Lupoli Companies, based in Lawrence, Mass., operates more than 6 million square feet of commercial real estate and $1.5 billion in current development projects, according to the company’s website. Its portfolio includes several fine dining restaurants and 550,000 square feet of food manufacturing facilities.

Tuscan Village developer and restaurateur Joe Faro, who attended the ribbon cutting, is a partner with Lupoli in the food production business. Last year, through their Artisan Chef Manufacturing Company, they acquired Buitoni Food Company, a leading brand of refrigerated pasta.

“That’s been around for a couple hundred years, that brand,” Lupoli said.

Sal’s Pizza includes about a dozen corporate stores, including the new Salem location, and franchised locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Florida. It also sells refrigerated pizza to grocery stores.

The brand has become ubiquitous in New England, with Sal’s Pizza sold at Fenway Park, TD Garden, Northeast Delta Dental Stadium and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. The company also has a second new location in Salem inside the Sam Adams Beer Garden in Tuscan Village.

Unlike say, lobster, pizza has remained affordable over the decades, we noted during our talk.

“Well, I’ll tell you why. Because you’re dealing with the three staffs of life, right?” Lupoli said. “You deal with bread, right? You deal with cheese. You deal with tomatoes. They’re plentiful, fortunately.”

Sal’s Pizza next gen

While Lupoli has no plans to retire, he’s encouraged that another generation of his family, including his son Sal Jr., daughter Mary and son-in-law Michael DeDonato, have joined the company.

“My nieces and nephews are all coming into the business. And so what happens in life as you continue on this beautiful journey? I’ve been in business now going on 36 years, starting in Salem. I’m in my late 50s now and I started saying, ‘wow, you know, what are we going to do here?’ Then all of a sudden, this younger generation comes in and they give you energy.”

His namesake son joined the business full time just a couple of months ago. The Bentley graduate, who played defensive back in college, was invited by the New England Patriots in May to join the rookie mini-camp, and played for the Massachusetts Pirates indoor football team this year.

“Right now, I’m starting a new phase of my life, which is the family business, and I couldn’t be more excited. With dad, I’m learning all the leadership skills and daily skills,” the younger Lupoli said.

Like his dad, who played football at Northeastern University, he’s starting at the bottom, with a 12-month plan to learn every aspect of the business.

“Now I’m in the restaurants, boots on the ground, I’m in the kitchen, I’m mopping floors, I’m sweeping,” he said. “Half the week, I’ll be with dad and some of the higher ups of these verticals. And the other half of the week, I’m with everybody, learning from the ground up.”