“Grandfather would turn in his grave”: 100-year-old New York pizzeria has a condition for new owner

Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana in Coney Island, New York, has been around for 100 years. However, the founder’s grandchildren are now too old to run the business and are looking for a new owner. However, the owner must fulfill one condition.

The 100-year-old Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana in Coney Island, New York, is looking for a new owner. The family business, which is currently run by siblings Antoinette Balzano and Louise ‘Cookie’ Ciminieri, has one condition, according to the New York Post: pineapple has no place on pizza.

Bolzano says: “My grandfather would turn in his grave if he heard the word pineapple.” For her and her brother, it is clear: the goal is to find a buyer or partner who will use the classic recipe and maintain the pizzeria’s tradition.

The siblings are proud to be part of the pizzeria’s tradition and success, but feel overwhelmed. “We are well past retirement age and do not have the necessary strength to keep the whole thing running,” explained 73-year-old Balzano. That is why they are now looking for an owner to take over the running of the pizzeria.

Antonio Pero, the siblings’ grandfather, came to New York from Italy in 1903. In 1924, he finally founded his own pizzeria in Coney Island. Before that, however, Pero worked at Lombardi’s Pizza in Little Italy. The pizzeria, which still exists today, is considered the first pizzeria in America and was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi, reports the “Welt”.

Pizza made its breakthrough in New York when the sale of individual slices of pizza became more common, reports “PBS”. In the 1930s, the gas-powered oven was invented. The indirect heat ensured that the pizza could be reheated and sold that way. Since then, almost all pizza makers have used this type of oven. This makes Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana in Coney Island all the more special. According to the “New York Post”, the pizza is still baked in an old coal oven, which was standard before the gas oven.

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