Totonno's is a

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then take ...

located at 1524 Neptune Avenue (between West 15th Street and West 16th Street) in

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. It was established in 1924 by Antonio "Totonno" Pero.

History

Totonno was an employee at the

Lombardi's Lombardi's is a pizzeria located at 32 Spring Street on the corner of Mott Street in the Nolita neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. Opened in 1905, it has been recognized by the Pizza Hall of Fame as the first pizzeria in t ...

pizzeria on

Spring Street Spring Street may refer to: * Spring Street (Los Angeles), USA * Spring Street (Manhattan), New York City, USA * Spring Street, Melbourne, Australia * Spring Street, Singapore * Spring St (website), a US based lifestyle website Subway and trolle ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's Little Italy that was established in 1905 when he began selling tomato pies cooked in a coal oven and wrapped in paper and tied with a string. In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. It is owned by Louise Ciminieri and known for its lines out the door, longevity, and delicious food. Pero can be seen in a photograph with Lombardi, whose employ he left in 1924, "shortly after the subway started running out to the hinterlands of Coney Island, and opened his own place there". Totonno's pizza has been made the same way since 1924 and, "along with its Brooklyn pizza brethren Di Fara Pizza,

Grimaldi's Grimaldi's Pizzeria is an American pizzeria chain from the New York metropolitan area, New York City area with several restaurants throughout the United States. Its most famous restaurant is under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn at 1 Front Street ...

and Franny's ... is considered among the best in the country by people who have dedicated their lives to the subject".

James Oseland James Oseland is an American writer, editor and television personality. He is the author and editor-in-chief of ''World Food,'' an acclaimed book series from Ten Speed Press. He served as editor-in-chief of the U.S. food magazine ''Saveur'' from 2 ...

, editor-in-chief of ''

Saveur ''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews, who was also the ...

'' magazine, attributes a "quintessential New York City flavor profile" to Totonno's. Totonno's is one of a handful of pizzerias that use a coal fired brick oven, which imparts its unique flavor to pies baked in it. New coal ovens do not pass current environmental laws in New York, but the old ovens are grandfathered as long as the business remains open. The original location was damaged by fire in 2009, but reopened. In October 2012, Totonno's was among several landmark New York restaurants devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Although they had planned to open by the end of the year, they re-opened in mid-January 2013. In 2021 they closed temporarily due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in New York City The first case of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City was confirmed on March 1, 2020, though later research showed that the novel coronavirus had been circulating in New York City since January, with cases of community transmission confirme ...

. Totonno's has been featured on various television shows, such as

Ugly Delicious ''Ugly Delicious'' is a non-fiction original series on Netflix combining travel, cooking, and history. Each episode highlights one dish or concept, and explores how it is made in different regions and how it evolves. The first season premiered o ...

Somebody Feed Phil ''Somebody Feed Phil'' is an American television travel documentary series presented by Philip Rosenthal that premiered on Netflix on January 12, 2018. In May 2019, Netflix announced that it had renewed ''Somebody Feed Phil'' for a third season, ...

, and

The Pizza Show ''The Pizza Show'' is a television series about pizza broadcast by Viceland starring Frank Pinello. See also * List of programs broadcast by Viceland This is a list of programming for Vice channels in the US, and in the UK. Also included are ...

References

{{Coord, 40, 34, 44.1, N, 73, 59, 1.51, W, region:US-NY, display=title Italian-American culture in New York City Pizzerias in New York City Restaurants in Brooklyn Restaurants established in 1924 Coney Island James Beard Foundation Award winners 1924 establishments in New York City