Patsy's Pizzeria
Encyclopedia
Patsy's Pizzeria is a historic coal-oven pizzeria
in New York City and one of the original pizzerias in New York.
in 1933 by Pasquale (Patsy) Lanceri. When it opened it was one of New York's early pizzerias along with Lombardi's
, Grimaldi's
and John's Pizzeria. Patsy's claims to have originated the idea of selling pizza by the slice. Patsy Lancieri of Patsy's is said have learned his craft at Lombardi's brick-walled coal oven. New York's pizza dynasties are now in their third and fourth generations, and counting. And in its neighborhood of Spanish Harlem (which at the time the restaurants were started was known as Italian Harlem
), two restaurants "vie for the title of El Barrio's best bite": Patsy's Pizzeria "where — so they say — the archetypal thin-crust New York pizza was first invented" and nearby Rao's
, run by legendary restaurateur/ Sopranos
actor Frank Pellegrino
.
Patsy's was sold and expanded after its founder's death to Frank Brija, an Albanian from Kosovo, who bought the pizza company from its founders widow in 1991. Greek pizzamaker Nick Tsoulos decided to bring coal pizza to Manhattan
and made an agreement with Brija, the new owner of the East Harlem Patsy's, to use that name and in 1995 opened Patsy's Pizza at 509 Third Avenue, near 34th Street. Tsoulos, "a member of a Greek pizza-making clan in Queens", opened traditional New York pizzerias in Manhattan after licensing the name and starting in 1995 with a Patsy's on Third Avenue and 35th Street. He and his partners opened four more locations in Manhattan.
In 2009 there was a legal battle with Patsy's Restaurant on West 56th Street, founded by Pasquale (Patsy) Scognamillo in 1944 and a haven for Frank Sinatra and many celebrities, and Patsy's Pizzeria which was sold to the pizza emporium to the L.I. entrepreneurs in 1991.
reported in 1998 that, before the "pizza renaissance" of the 1990s, "the classic pizza was on the endangered list, treasured as an artifact of old New York but bypassed by a culture that preferred its pizzas fast, cheap and delivered." The tradition was kept alive by "just a few pizza landmarks, most famously John's Pizzeria on Bleecker Street, Patsy's Pizza in East Harlem and Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano in Coney Island ... [who] zealously preserved the traditions." Environmental regulations made it hard to build new coal ovens because they could only be rebuilt or replaced under an environmental grandfather clause, "not installed from scratch." According to The New York Times, "Pizza makers have become architectural historians, seeking out spaces that once housed a coal-burning oven, like old bakeries or restaurants".
Pizza
Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
in New York City and one of the original pizzerias in New York.
History
Patsy's Pizzeria was founded in East HarlemSpanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...
in 1933 by Pasquale (Patsy) Lanceri. When it opened it was one of New York's early pizzerias along with Lombardi's
Lombardi's
Lombardi's claims to be the first pizzeria in the United States, founded in 1905 in Little Italy, Manhattan. The business started out as a grocery store at 53 Spring Street in 1897 opened by Gennaro Lombardi. In 1905 his employee Antonio Totonno Pero began selling tomato pies wrapped in paper and...
, Grimaldi's
Grimaldi's Pizzeria
Grimaldi's Pizzeria is a popular pizzeria in the New York City area. The original, and most famous of these locations is located under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn on Old Fulton Street. It does not sell slices; only whole pies...
and John's Pizzeria. Patsy's claims to have originated the idea of selling pizza by the slice. Patsy Lancieri of Patsy's is said have learned his craft at Lombardi's brick-walled coal oven. New York's pizza dynasties are now in their third and fourth generations, and counting. And in its neighborhood of Spanish Harlem (which at the time the restaurants were started was known as Italian Harlem
Italian Harlem
Italian Harlem was the name that was given to East Harlem in the New York City borough of Manhattan, when it was largely inhabited by an Italian American population....
), two restaurants "vie for the title of El Barrio's best bite": Patsy's Pizzeria "where — so they say — the archetypal thin-crust New York pizza was first invented" and nearby Rao's
Rao's
Rao's is an Italian restaurant founded in 1896 and located at 455 East 114th Street in East Harlem, New York City, with a sister restaurant in Las Vegas, NV.-History:...
, run by legendary restaurateur/ Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
actor Frank Pellegrino
Frank Pellegrino
Frank Pellegrino is an American actor and restaurateur.Born in East Harlem, Pellegrino has often acted in law and gangster-themed film and television productions. He was a member of an early sixties singing group called The Holidaes. There is a rare recording of a song called "Never" that appears...
.
Patsy's was sold and expanded after its founder's death to Frank Brija, an Albanian from Kosovo, who bought the pizza company from its founders widow in 1991. Greek pizzamaker Nick Tsoulos decided to bring coal pizza to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and made an agreement with Brija, the new owner of the East Harlem Patsy's, to use that name and in 1995 opened Patsy's Pizza at 509 Third Avenue, near 34th Street. Tsoulos, "a member of a Greek pizza-making clan in Queens", opened traditional New York pizzerias in Manhattan after licensing the name and starting in 1995 with a Patsy's on Third Avenue and 35th Street. He and his partners opened four more locations in Manhattan.
Dispute over Patsy's name
The original Patsy died in the 1970s and his widow sold the East Harlem pizzeria to longtime employees in 1991, "to the chagrin of Patsy Grimaldi, her nephew, who opened a Patsy's in Brooklyn in 1990". The feuding deepened when Tsoulos' Patsy's opened in Manhattan, and Patsy Grimaldi changed the name of his pizzeria to Grimaldi's, which the New York Times said is the best and truest to the original.In 2009 there was a legal battle with Patsy's Restaurant on West 56th Street, founded by Pasquale (Patsy) Scognamillo in 1944 and a haven for Frank Sinatra and many celebrities, and Patsy's Pizzeria which was sold to the pizza emporium to the L.I. entrepreneurs in 1991.
Renaissance of pizza
A story from The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported in 1998 that, before the "pizza renaissance" of the 1990s, "the classic pizza was on the endangered list, treasured as an artifact of old New York but bypassed by a culture that preferred its pizzas fast, cheap and delivered." The tradition was kept alive by "just a few pizza landmarks, most famously John's Pizzeria on Bleecker Street, Patsy's Pizza in East Harlem and Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano in Coney Island ... [who] zealously preserved the traditions." Environmental regulations made it hard to build new coal ovens because they could only be rebuilt or replaced under an environmental grandfather clause, "not installed from scratch." According to The New York Times, "Pizza makers have become architectural historians, seeking out spaces that once housed a coal-burning oven, like old bakeries or restaurants".