Grimaldi's Pizzeria

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Grimaldi's Pizzeria
Grimaldi's Logo.jpg
1 Front Street Bk jeh.jpg
One Front Street main location
Restaurant information
Established1990; 31 years ago (1990)
Food typeItalian pizzeria
Street address1 Front St
CityBrooklyn
CountyKings
Postal/ZIP Code11201
CountryUnited States
Websitewww.grimaldispizzeria.com

Grimaldi's Pizzeria is an American pizzeria chain from the New York City area with several restaurants throughout the United States. Its most famous restaurant is under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn at 1 Front Street, next door to its original location. It does not sell slices, only whole pies. The pizzas are renowned for being cooked by coal-fired brick oven.[citation needed]

History[]

Brooklyn location[]

Patsy Grimaldi, the founder of Grimaldi's Pizzeria, learned to make pizza at age ten at Patsy's Pizzeria, his uncle Patsy Lancieri's restaurant in Italian Harlem in 1941. Decades later, Grimaldi decided to go into business for himself and originally planned to own his own restaurant in Manhattan. However, Grimaldi believed coal-fired brick ovens produced the best pizza and knew coal ovens were illegal in Manhattan. As a result, Grimaldi opened Grimaldi's Pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York in 1990.[citation needed]

In the late 1990s, Patsy Grimaldi retired, selling the Grimaldi's name and franchise (except for the Hoboken locations) to restaurateur Frank Ciolli. In 2011, the building's owner declined to renew Ciolli's lease, so he renovated an abandoned bank next door and moved the restaurant over. The next year, Patsy Grimaldi came out of retirement and opened a new pizzeria called Juliana's Pizza in the original building, resulting in enmity between himself and Ciolli.[1]

Recent locations[]

In 2021, it was announced that Grimaldi's was partering with Power Brands Hospitality Group and opening a new location in Huntsville, Alabama, their first in the state. At the time, Joseph Ciolli was CEO of Grimaldi's[2] and the franchise had locations in South Carolina and Florida, as well as "to-go" locations in New York along with its primary Brooklyn location.[3]

Accolades[]

Customers waiting outside the original Grimaldi's Pizzeria. As Grimaldi's does not take reservations, lines for tables are often long in summertime and extend far up Old Fulton Street.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria was one of the most popular pizzerias in New York City.[citation needed] In recent years, Zagat Survey rated Grimaldi's the No. 1 Pizzeria in New York.[4] It was named one of the top 10 restaurants in New York by Let's Do New York City.[5][6] Grimaldi's Pizzeria was chosen as one of the five best pizzerias in United States by the Food Network. Its pizza was featured on the television show The Best Of....[7]

Separate chains[]

There are two independently-operated Grimaldi's chains throughout the United States, each with legal rights to the name:

  • The more well-known chain of Grimaldi’s Pizzeria restaurants, operated by Frank Ciolli and his family, includes the original Brooklyn Bridge location[8] and also has locations in Alabama, Arizona,[9] California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada,[10] South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.[11][12]
  • Two more locations, operated by former Patsy Grimaldi partner Sean McHugh, are located in Hoboken and Verona, New Jersey.[13]

A friend of the Ciolli family, Rob Tarzia, and a former employee of Grimaldis Pizzeria, in 2019 opened a Coal Fired Brick Oven Pizzeria in Middletown NJ, named Zoni’s Brooklyn Brick Pizzeria. In 1 year they came in 6th place for Best Pizza in New Jersey State by Jersey Pizza Joints.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Blau, Raven (December 5, 2012). "Food fight over Brooklyn's Grimaldi's pizza spreads to the classic coal ovens strictly regulated by the city". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Kaitlin Kanable (June 30, 2021), "Grimaldi's Pizzeria opening first Alabama location in Huntsville", WHNT
  3. ^ "Grimaldi's Unveils 'Margherita, Margarita' Menu", FSR Magazine, December 14, 2021
  4. ^ [1] Archived October 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Let's do New York City
  6. ^ [2] Archived September 26, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Pizza Places : The Best Of : Food Network
  8. ^ Tuder, Stefanie (March 21, 2019). "Iconic Pizzeria Grimaldi's Is Now Owned by an Arizona Chain". Eater.
  9. ^ Owings, Amy (August 14, 2016). "Grimaldi's Pizzeria brings signature flavors to Flagstaff". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  10. ^ Hall, Debbie (August 22, 2016). "Grimaldi's Pizzeria toasts its food with its new signature wine, Mille Gradi". Las Vegas Informer. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "Grimaldi's Pizzeria is now open at Chesterfield Towne Center". Richmond Times-Dispatch. June 7, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  12. ^ Grimaldi's Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria with locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, South Carolina and Texas
  13. ^ About-Us

External links[]

Coordinates: 40°42′09″N 73°59′36″W / 40.70255°N 73.9933°W / 40.70255; -73.9933

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