The Original: Lombardi’s
1905
Gennaro Lombardi applies to the city government for the first license to make and sell pizza in this country. His restaurant becomes the training ground for the city’s next generation of pizza-makers.
Totonno’s
Spun Off From: Lombardi’s
1924
Founded by Anthony “Totonno” Pero, former Lombardi’s pizza-maker.
1940s-1994
Ownership changes hands three times, all within the family.
1994
Gennaro “Jerry” Pero, Anthony’s son and a former owner, dies.
2009
A fire burns the original Coney Island pizzeria. It gets rebuilt and reopens less than a year later and today is the only Totonno’s still open.
Total Pizzerias: 1
John’s Pizzeria
Spun Off From: Lombardi’s
1929
Opened by John Sasso, who was trained by Lombardi.
1947
Sasso’s nephews Augustine and Patrick Vesce take over the business.
1970s-1980s
Ownership changes hands two more times, all within the family.
1984-2008
John’s opens up two additional restaurants in Manhattan and one in Jersey City.
Total Pizzerias: 4
Patsy’s
Spun Off From: Lombardi’s
1933
Pasquale “Patsy” Lancieri, who briefly worked at Lombardi’s, opens Patsy’s in East Harlem with wife Carmella.
1974
Lancieri passes away.
1991
Carmella sells the East Harlem pizzeria to longtime employees John Brecevich and Frank Brija.
1995
Brecevich and Brija license the Patsy’s name to Nick Tsoulos. Six other Patsy’s have opened in Manhattan since then.
Total Pizzerias: 7
Grimaldi’s
Spun Off From: Patsy’s
1941
A teenage Patsy Grimaldi starts making pies at his uncle Patsy Lancieri’s restaurant.
1990
Grimaldi opens his own coal-oven pizzeria in Brooklyn at 19 Old Fulton Street and calls it Patsy’s.
Mid-1990s
Brija takes Grimaldi to court over name licensing, resulting in Grimaldi’s rechristening his
pizzeria after his last name.
1998
Grimaldi sells the restaurant to Frank Ciolli but stays on as a sometime consultant. Over time, Ciolli opens 32 out-of-state locations and four New York locations.
2011
Landlord disputes and rent problems force Ciolli to relocate to One Front Street.
2011
Patsy and Carol Grimaldi decide to open a new pizzeria called Juliana’s, named after Patsy’s late mother, in the original Fulton Street location, reuniting him with his coal oven.
2011
Patsy and Carol Grimaldi decide to open a new pizzeria called Juliana’s, named after Patsy’s late mother, in the original Fulton Street location, reuniting him with his coal oven.
2012
Ciolli files a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Grimaldi, citing “unfair competition.”
Total Pizzerias: 36
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Recently found documents are disputing the claims that Genaro Lombardi opened what is now known as Lomabrdi's Pizzeria in 1905. Documents show Signor Filippo Milone opening a Pizzeria at 192 Grand Street, New York NY , so this pre-dates the claim of Lombardi's being America's 1st ever Pizzeria. As far as there being a pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring Street where Lombardi's now stands, documents show that there was a pizzeria there in 1905, but it was not owned then by Lombardi, but by Giovanni Santillo, who opened it in 1901. This pizzeria was called Antica Pizzeria Napoletana.Other documents show Genaro Lombardi immigrating to New York in 1905 at age 17, and being classified at Ellis Island as a "laborer." It's possible that Genaro Lombardi was at the pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring Street as an employee, but certainly not an owner in 1905. Lombardi did end up buying the pizzeria at a later date.
53 1/2 SPRING STREET
NEW YORK NY
1905
The picture above shows Antonino Tottono Pero (left) and Genaro Lomardi (r) in front of 53 1/2 Spring Street, New York. If you consider the newspaper ad of Antica Pizzeria Napoletana, and if the ad was in 1905, then maybe the picture of Anthony Pero and Genaro Lombardi that has 1905 pasted over the picture shown here, and hangs in Totottono's Pizzeria on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn, then this picture may very well be at a later date (1907? 1909??? whatever ???). You can see the sign in the window says Genaro Lombardi Pro. (proprietor), and that the shop is an Italian Grocery Store, of which one of the products they sell is fresh baked pizza which the Pero family claims, their ancestor Antonino Tottono Pero is the pizzaiolo (pizza maker / baker), as the family points out the he has flour on his shoes in the picture, and that bakers always have flour on their shows. There is no evidence of Lombardi having flours on his shoes.
Atonino Pero went on to open his own Pizzeria, Tottono's on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island Brooklyn in 1924. The Pero family states that Tottono's is the oldest pizzeria in America, continuously operated by the same family, the Pero's.
Tottono's Pizzeria Napolitana
Circa 1950s
"Don't Mess with COOKIE" !!!
Cookie Ciminieri at Tottono's, 2015. Don't mess with Cookie, "she's a Tough Cookie." If you've ever been to Tottonos's, you know what we mean.
Anthony Pero
1950s ???
John's Pizzeria
Since 1929
John's Pizzeria of Bleecker Street . The neon sign JOHN'S PIZZERIA PROT'ALBA. The neon sign, Port'Alba aludes to the original name of the pizzeria opened in 1929 by John Sasso at 175 Sullivan Street, Greenwich Village, New York. Note that the original Faicco's Salumeria Italian Deli was also first located on Sullivan Street and later moved to Bleecker Street a few block away.
JOHN SASSO of JOHN'S PIZZA
A old picture of John Sasso in front of his pizzeria. Not sure if this is the original location at 175 Sullivan Street, or the current location on Bleecker Street. Note the words Spaghetti on the window.
