New York Metropolis is world-renowned for its pizza, and one longtime Coney Island spot is working to maintain the legacy of their Italian immigrant grandfather alive.
Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana celebrates its one hundredth birthday this yr, and the descendants of founder Antonio “Totonno” Pero are in search of an investing accomplice or purchaser to take over the household enterprise to assist protect the enduring establishment. Pero’s granddaughter Antoinette Balzano and her sister Louise “Cookie” Ciminieri are open to any form of accomplice or proprietor, however they’d should abide by one situation: to not serve pineapple on pizza.
“My grandfather would flip in his grave to listen to ‘Pineapples,'” Balzano informed The New York Publish. The ban additionally extends to different unconventional toppings like shellfish: “Clams? Oh my God.”
Totonno’s is among the few pizza eating places left throughout town that makes use of a coal-fired oven. Pero’s grandchildren are proud homeowners of the situation, however they merely need assistance preserving the place working, as they’re effectively previous retirement age.
Like many Italians, Pero emigrated to New York Metropolis within the early twentieth century. He opened his Coney Island pizzeria in 1924 after working on the well-known Lombardi’s restaurant in Manhattan’s Little Italy. With the ability to open his personal enterprise, Balzano stated, is the conclusion of an enormous dream.
“To return right here with no cash, no household, and individuals are nonetheless speaking about him 100 years later,” she stated. “How many individuals can say that except you’re a film star or Mozart?”
