Lombardi's Pizza
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | 1905 |
| Founder | Gennaro Lombardi |
| Headquarters | Manhattan, New York City , United States |
Area served | New York City |
Key people | John Brescio (current owner) |
| Products | Pizza |
Lombardi's is a pizzeria situated at 32 Spring Street, at the intersection with Mott Street, within the Nolita district of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1905, it holds recognition from the Pizza Hall of Fame as the United States' inaugural pizzeria, although subsequent investigations have uncovered earlier establishments.
History
The enterprise is traditionally attributed to Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi, who is said to have launched a grocery store in 1897 at 53½ Spring Street, offering "tomato pies" to nearby factory employees. By 1905, Lombardi reportedly secured a license to run a pizzeria, drawing patrons including the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Ownership later passed to his son, George. Nonetheless, research conducted in 2019 indicates that Lombardi arrived in America only in late 1904 as a laborer, implying he initially worked for someone else; records suggest Filippo Milone was the original proprietor.
The original location ceased operations in 1984 but reopened ten years later close by at 30 and 32 Spring Street, under the management of Gennaro Lombardi III, grandson of the founder, alongside his childhood companion John Brescio. Due to this closure and relocation, the distinction of America's longest continuously running pizzeria shifted to Papa's Tomato Pies in Trenton, New Jersey, which was established in 1912. Brescio continues as the current proprietor and was linked by law enforcement in 2017 to the Genovese crime family.
Relocating to 32 Spring Street was motivated by the availability of a coal-fired oven. Amid the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lombardi's ended its lease at 30 Spring Street but maintained occupancy at 32 Spring Street; following this, the building owner removed the coal oven.
To commemorate its 100th anniversary in 2005 and its 110th in 2015, Lombardi's offered pizzas at their original price of five cents.
See also
External links
- "Slice of the City: New York" Pizza magazine article