Carol Grimaldi (née Lancieri, May 20, 1938 – April 10, 2014) was an American restaurateur and co-founder of Grimaldi's Pizzeria. In 1933, her uncle, Pasquale Lancieri, founded the Patsy's Pizzeria in Harlem, which was one of the first pizzerias in Harlem. The

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

-born Grimaldi and her husband were forced to change the name from ''Patsy's'' to Grimaldi's in the mid-1990s, due to a dispute with another restaurant. Eight years after the opening of the pizzeria, Grimaldi and her husband sold the pizzeria, and retired from the restaurant business. While still remaining in different business enterprises throughout the years, including Juliana's Pizzeria, the couple decided to re-open the former pizzeria business in 2011. Juliana's is located near the location of Grimaldi's, and serves modern-style pizzas. The couple was interviewed about pizza-eating techniques on NPR in 2014. As of 2014, the Grimaldi brand has become global.

Personal life

Carol Grimaldi died of cancer in 2014 in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, aged 75. She had been battling cancer for more than a year at the time of her death. She was survived by her husband/business partner, Pasquale Grimaldi.

References

1938 births 2014 deaths American women restaurateurs American restaurateurs Pizza chain founders Deaths from cancer in New York (state) 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1930s-stub