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Ray's Pizza, and its many variations such as "Ray's Original Pizza", "Famous Ray's Pizza" and "World-Famous Original Ray's Pizza", are the names of dozens of
pizzerias This list of pizza chains includes notable pizzerias and pizza chains. Pizza is a dish of Neapolitan origin and cuisine, made with an oven-baked, flat, generally round bread that is often covered with tomatoes or a tomato-based sauce and mozz ...
in the
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area that are generally completely independent (a few have multiple locations) but may have similar menus, signs, and logos.


History

Ralph Cuomo opened the first Ray's Pizza, at 27
Prince Street The Prince Street station is a local station on the BMT Broadway Line of the New York City Subway. Located in SoHo, Manhattan, it is served by the R train at all times except late nights, the W train on weekdays, the N train during late nig ...
in
Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are s ...
, in 1959, named after his nickname "Raffie". In the 1960s he briefly owned a second Ray's Pizza, but sold it to Rosolino Mangano in 1964. Mangano kept the name and later claimed that his was the first. In 1973, Mario Di Rienzo named his new pizzeria Ray's Pizza (which is now closed) after, he claimed, the nickname for his family in Italy. Also that year, Joseph Bari purchased a pizzeria from Mangano and renamed it, and several others, as Ray Bari Pizza. By 1991, dozens of pizzerias in New York City had "Ray's" in their name, as well as those in other American states. In 1981, Gary Esposito purchased a pizzeria from Mangano. After opening several more "Original Ray's" restaurants, he partnered with Cuomo and Mangano to combine independent "Ray's" restaurants into an official franchise chain. there were at least 49 restaurants by some variant of that name in the New York City
telephone directory A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization tha ...
, including one named Not Ray's Pizza. The first Ray's Pizza closed its doors on Sunday, October 30, 2011, following a legal dispute over rent and a lease that followed its owner's death in 2008. Half of the space that once housed Ray's Pizza has been leased to a new company, Prince Street Pizza. Meanwhile, Famous Ray's Pizza on
Sixth Avenue Sixth Avenue – also known as Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers, p.24 – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown". It is commercial ...
and 11th Street (pictured), which had served pizza since the 1970s, closed down in 2011, reopened under the name "Famous Roio's Pizza" in 2012, and closed again in 2013. A Chinese restaurant now occupies the space.


In popular culture

The confusion of various Ray's Pizzas is featured in a gag in 1997 Simpsons episode "
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on September 21, 1997, as the 179 ...
." While waiting for a traffic officer beside the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
, Homer spots a pizza parlour named "Original Famous Ray's (Not Affiliated With Famous Original Ray's)." In the episode "The Caste System" in the second season of ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
'', Miranda accompanies her boyfriend Steve to Famous Original Ray's Pizza located at 204 West 9th Avenue in
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. In the 2003 film ''
Elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
'', Santa Claus tells Buddy the Elf, "Second, there are, like, 30 Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original, but the real one's on 11th." In the 2008 film ''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
'', Obadiah Stane brings Tony Stark Ray's Pizza back from his business trip to New York.


See also

*
New York-style pizza New York–style pizza is pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be fol ...
*
List of Italian restaurants This is a list of notable Italian restaurants, which specialize in the preparation and purveyance of Italian cuisine: * Amato's * Bella Italia * Beppi's Restaurant * Buca di Beppo * Carrabba's Italian Grill * Cibo Espresso * Drago resta ...
*
List of pizza chains of the United States This is a list of pizza chains of the United States. This list is limited to pizza chain restaurants that are based, headquartered or originated in the United States. Pizza chains of the United States * &pizza *America's Incredible Pizza Company ...
*
List of restaurants in New York City This is a list of notable restaurants in New York City. A restaurant is a business which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money, either paid before the meal, after the meal, or with an open account. New York City is ...


References


External links

* {{cite web , url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/cats-dogs-andpizza/ , title=Cats, Dogs and...Pizza , work= The Next Big Thing , publisher=
WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...
, date=December 15, 2002 , access-date=February 16, 2010 , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223184019/http://www.wnyc.org/shows/tnbt/episodes/2002/12/15 , archive-date=February 23, 2010 Italian-American culture in New York City Italian restaurants in the United States Pizzerias in New York City Restaurants established in 1959 1959 establishments in New York City