One of America's best pizzerias is turning 100 — sorry NYC, it's in Connecticut

New York Post

2 days ago

Now that's amore.
Frank Pepe's iconic, coal-fired pizza joint — a favorite of celebs and locals alike in New Haven, Connecticut — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this month.
Opened on June 16, 1925, by Italian immigrant Pepe and his wife Filomena, the no-frills 'apizza' spot helped define the city's signature tomato pies and sparked a cult-like devotion over the years — think long lines around the block even in the rain, sleet and heavy New England snow.
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Now run by the family's third generation, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has kicked off a yearlong celebration with a new tribute video narrated by hometown hero, New Haven pizza lover and Oscar-nominated actor Paul Giamatti — and fans from both 'pizza capital' New Haven and New York City are, well, eating it up.
16 The legend of Pepe's began a century ago, when Italian immigrant Frank Pepe (above) came back from WWI, rolled up his sleeves and rolled out dough in New Haven's Wooster Square.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
16 The century-old Connecticut institution has drawn a cult-like following for its coal-fired pies.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
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'When I would serve the New Yorkers at our New Haven restaurant, they would tell me, 'I'm from New York, and I come back and forth for your pizza — hands down,'' Pepe's granddaughter, Jennifer Bimonte-Kelly, told The Post.
'New Yorkers are the toughest critics. When they said it was good, I got chills on my legs.'
Connecticut city and state officials joined the Pepe family — along with Giamatti, who has long touted the magic of Pepe's and has been a fan since he was a child — to honor the milestone last week by christening the corner of Brown and Wooster streets as 'Frank & Filomena Pepe Corner' in the heart of the city's legendary Italian-American neighborhood.
Signature 'crunch' baked right in
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16 'The Holdovers' star and New Haven pizza fan Paul Giamatti celebrates Pepe at the recent 100th anniversary shindig.
Lisa Nichols
A century in, Connecticut residents aren't the only ones still drooling over the famous pizza — there are 16 other Pepe's locations throughout the country, including outposts in Yonkers, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, Maryland and Virginia.
What makes this pizzeria so special that it has a cult-like following and attracts A-listers like Giamatti, filmmaker Ron Howard, Oscar winner Meryl Streep, former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and more?
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When it opened in 1925, Pepe's helped define New Haven-style 'apizza' (pronounced ah-beets), which is essentially thin pizza made in a coal-fired oven at 600°F or higher, which seals in moisture and creates a crispy, charred but chewy pizza.
The style is often imitated by other local pizzerias, but devotees say it can't be duplicated — which is what keeps hungry fans coming back.
'It's like our signature. When you bite into it, the flavor from the crust … tastes better than Italian bread. It just has that crunch to it,' Bimonte-Kelly told The Post.
16 Plenty try to copy Pepe's signature char — but fans say no one nails it like the original, which is why fans keep flocking back for another slice.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
16 Pepe's pies didn't just win fans — they built a full-blown pizza cult, with die-hards lining up 'round the block in rain, sleet or New England snow for a century strong.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
New Yorker Joey Pascale agreed: 'When people say New Haven pizza is burnt, they don't understand it's a char.'
Even after moving to NYC, the New Haven County native said he's made the 90-minute trip to Pepe's at the request of friends and co-workers who 'crave it that badly.'
'Apizza' the history
16 Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, the legendary coal-fired pizzeria out of New Haven, Conn. — beloved by A-listers and hometown heroes alike — just hit the big 1-0-0.
kirkikis – stock.adobe.com
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16 Frank Pepe and his wife Filomena (above) fired up their no-frills 'apizza' joint on June 16, 1925 — and New Haven's been hooked ever since. The coal-fired classic helped put tomato pies on the map and inspired a century's worth of die-hard fans.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
The pizzeria's long history kicked off when Pepe — who immigrated from Italy to the U.S. in 1909 — returned from WWI and settled in Wooster Square.
After marrying fellow Italian immigrant Filomena Volpi, he hustled tomato pies out of a bakery where he worked at the time, balancing trays of his signature 'apizza' on his head as he peddled them through the market.
By 1925, he'd saved enough money to open Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, which quickly became a neighborhood staple.
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16 The New Haven location has become a Connecticut landmark.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
In 1937, he moved the operation into a bigger space next door — still the main Pepe's Wooster Street location today — where he and Filomena lived upstairs with their two daughters, Elizabeth and Serafina.
By the early '60s, Pepe was ready to hang up his apron. With no sons to take over the coal-fired pie shop, selling the business seemed like his only option.
But his daughters had other plans.
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16 Jennifer Bimonte-Kelly (left) and her sister, Genevieve Bimonte.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Elizabeth and Serafina stepped in to keep things afloat while their mother, Filomena, continued to be the bookkeeper for over 40 years.
Today, following the passing of her mother and aunt, 68-year-old Bimonte-Kelly is keeping the family legacy alive as co-owner of Pepe's original New Haven spot.
Fired up
16 Pepe's helped create New Haven's signature style pizza.
The Washington Post via Getty Images
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The pep in Pepe's famous pizza is its base.
New York pizza dough is usually whipped up with American bread flour — with a dash of sugar and oil in it — giving it a thin, foldable crust with a crispy edge.
On the other hand, the New Haven landmark uses a wetter, longer-fermented dough, which helps it develop a rich, almost ciabatta-like texture.
Pepe's pizza is then crisped in 100,000-pound brick ovens heated with coal — replicas of the original built a century ago.
16
The Washington Post via Getty Images
16 The white clam pizza, created by Frank Pepe, is made with fresh clams, garlic, oregano, grated pecorino romano cheese and olive oil.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
Every ingredient used in the pies is handpicked — from the tomatoes grown in volcanic soil near Mount Vesuvius to the clams shucked daily from the Long Island Sound.
Even the pecorino cheese is imported from Sardinia, Italy.
New Haven vs. New York
16 Pepe's dough is unique compared to other pizzerias in the tri-state area.
Courtesy Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
That exceptional combination is what has kept Pepe's lights on and its doors open for the past 100 years — and what's sparked an 85-mile pizza rivalry between NYC and New Haven, as some diehards swear Pepe's blows Manhattan's slices out of the water.
'New York style is what I call a 'lifestyle pizza' — made to be sold in slice form, on a cheap white plate, on the go. New Haven style is meant to be eaten at the table with family and friends,' Frank Zabski, founder of New Haven Pizza School, told The Post.
Nicholas Aucella, a New York City resident who grew up in New Haven County, is also a fan and has been going to Pepe's with his family ever since he was born.
'It's a true, authentic experience,' he explained to The Post. 'The pizza is worth every minute waiting in line. The feeling you get from each pie is indescribable.'
16 Tarik Ali, center, and Lesley Gaillard work the counter at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in March.
Getty Images
16 Jennifer Bimonte-Kelly is proud to keep her grandfather's legacy alive 100 years later.
Chris Volpe
Despite the praises from hungry customers, Bimonte-Kelly believes Pepe's real secret sauce is a heaping dose of humility and gratitude.
'My grandpop taught me in life to treat people with honor and respect,' Bimonte-Kelly said.
''You don't boast,' he'd say. There's nothing to boast about because it could be taken away from you like that,' she added, snapping her fingers.
And it's not just the delicious pizza that brings in hordes of customers — the New Haven location is also a place of nostalgia for locals.
16 Bimonte-Kelly (above, serving apizza at the restaurant) waitressed at the original New Haven location for over 30 years and 'loved serving the customers and seeing them bring their families to the restaurant.'
Chris Volpe
'When you look at old pictures of Wooster Street and Pepe's, it all looks the same,' Pascale said. 'Nothing tops the old school atmosphere. I love getting a good seat in the restaurant with a view of Wooster Street and watching people walk by.'
'Energy, humility, presence and passion'
'I'm just so grateful and humbled. I appreciate the love that the customers give to us. I'm always so blown away,' a teary Bimonte-Kelly told The Post of her grandfather's long legacy. 'I'm just so grateful and humbled. I appreciate the love that the customers give to us. I'm always so blown away.
'I go out into the line whenever I visit, and I thank the customers for coming in and for waiting in line,' she continued.
It's something she learned from her grandpop, who she says used to 'tip his hat' at people lining up for his pizza and greet everyone with a welcoming smile.
'I look around the restaurant to this day and feel the energy, humility, presence and passion of the people from the past and the present. I feel light, energy, love, togetherness, teamwork and resilience.'