{{Short description|Pizzeria in Brooklyn, New York}} {{Use American English|date=November 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox restaurant | name = Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano | logo = Totonno's Pizzeria logo.png | logo_width = | logo_alt = | image = Totonno's Pizzeria.jpg | image_width = 250 | image_alt = | image_caption = Totonno's pizzeria in 2008 | pushpin_map = | map_width = | map_alt = | map_caption = | slogan = | established = {{Start date and age|1924}}<ref name="NewYork_2009" /> | closed = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | current_owner = | chef = | head_chef = | food_type = | dress_code = | rating = | street_address = 1524 Neptune Ave | city = Brooklyn | county = | state = New York | postcode = 11224 | country = United States | coordinates = | seating_capacity = | reservations = | other_locations = | other_information = | website = {{URL|https://www.totonnosconeyisland.com/|totonnosconeyisland.com}} }}
'''Totonno's''' is an American pizzeria located at 1524 Neptune Avenue (between West 15th Street and West 16th Street) in Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Totonno's Pizzeria Napolitano |url=http://www.zagat.com/r/totonnos-pizzeria-napolitano-brooklyn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506155437/http://www.zagat.com/r/totonnos-pizzeria-napolitano-brooklyn |archive-date=2013-05-06 |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=Zagat}}</ref> It was established in 1924 by Antonio "Totonno" Pero.
==History== Totonno was an employee at the Lombardi's pizzeria on Spring Street in New York'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.<ref name="NewYork_2009">{{Cite magazine |date=2009-07-13 |title=104 Years of Pizza in New York |url=http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2009/57894/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718164130/http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2009/57894/ |archive-date=2009-07-18 |accessdate=2015-09-12 |work=New York}}</ref><ref name="Wilson_2009"/> Pero can be seen in a photograph with Lombardi,<ref name="Wilson_2009"/> 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".<ref name="Wilson_2009"/>
Totonno's pizza has been made the same way since 1924 and, "along with its Brooklyn pizza brethren Di Fara Pizza, Grimaldi's and Franny's ... is considered among the best in the country by people who have dedicated their lives to the subject".<ref>{{cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |author-link=Kim Severson |date=2006-11-08 |title='Brooklyn Style Pizza' Meets the Real Deal |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E4D6113FF93BA35752C1A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107225855/https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E4D6113FF93BA35752C1A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 |archive-date=2012-11-07 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=The New York Times |issn=1553-8095}}</ref> James Oseland, editor-in-chief of ''Saveur'' magazine, attributes a "quintessential New York City flavor profile" to Totonno's.<ref name="Gordinier_2012" />
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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kuban |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Kuban |date=2007-11-08 |title=New York City–Area Coal-Oven Pizzerias |url=http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2007/11/slice-coal-oven-pizzeria-map.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917004543/https://slice.seriouseats.com/2007/11/slice-coal-oven-pizzeria-map.html |archive-date=2020-09-17 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=Slice |publisher=Serious Eats}}</ref>
The original location was damaged by fire in 2009,<ref name="Wilson_2009">{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Michael |date=2009-03-15 |title=Fire Shuts Totonno's, Legendary Coney Island Pizzeria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/nyregion/16pizza.html |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=The New York Times |issn=1553-8095}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Chung |first=Jen |date=2009-03-15 |title=Coney Island Pizzeria Totonno's Plans to Rebuild After Fire |url=http://gothamist.com/2009/03/15/beloved_coney_island_pizzeria_plans.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602074945/http://gothamist.com/2009/03/15/beloved_coney_island_pizzeria_plans.php |archive-date=2010-06-02 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=Gothamist}}</ref> but reopened.<ref name="Gordinier_2012">{{cite news |last=Gordinier |first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Gordinier |date=2012-11-27 |title=Fighting to Save the Flavor of New York |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/dining/after-hurricane-sandy-fighting-to-save-the-flavor-of-new-york.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201004818/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/dining/after-hurricane-sandy-fighting-to-save-the-flavor-of-new-york.html |archive-date=2012-12-01 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=The New York Times |issn=1553-8095}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Gordinier_2012" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Wells |first=Pete |author-link=Pete Wells |date=2012-11-28 |title=Sandy's Less-Heralded Victims: The Places That Bring New Yorkers Together |url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/sandys-less-heralded-victims-the-places-that-bring-new-yorkers-together/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203163449/http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/sandys-less-heralded-victims-the-places-that-bring-new-yorkers-together/ |archive-date=2012-12-03 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> they re-opened in mid-January 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last=Crowley |first=Chris |date=2012-12-18 |title=Restoring Our Church of Pizza: The Rebuilding and Repairing of Totonno's After Hurricane Sandy |url=http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/12/rebuilding-the-church-of-pizza-totonnos-and-hurricane-sandy.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115111728/http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/12/rebuilding-the-church-of-pizza-totonnos-and-hurricane-sandy.html |archive-date=2013-01-15 |access-date=2025-08-29 |work=Slice |publisher=Serious Eats}}</ref> In 2021 they closed temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fortney |first=Luke |date=2021-04-07 |title=Legendary Coney Island Pizzeria Totonno's Isn't Closing After All |url=https://ny.eater.com/2021/4/7/22369739/totonnos-pizzeria-coney-island-not-closing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407144254/https://ny.eater.com/2021/4/7/22369739/totonnos-pizzeria-coney-island-not-closing |archive-date=2021-04-07 |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=Eater New York |language=en}}</ref> In May 2024, the owners started publicly looking for a potential buyer to take over the restaurant. Explaining their decision, Ciminieri said, "We’re coming up in age and we don’t have the manpower to continue."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wells |first=Pete |author-link=Pete Wells |date=2024-05-30 |title=After 100 Years of Pizza, the Future of Totonno's Is in Question |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/dining/totonnos-pizza-nyc.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240530100809/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/dining/totonnos-pizza-nyc.html |archive-date=2024-05-30 |access-date=2025-08-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=1553-8095}}</ref>
Totonno's has been featured on various television shows, such as ''Ugly Delicious'', ''Somebody Feed Phil'', and ''The Pizza Show''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morabito |first=Greg |date=2018-02-23 |title='Ugly Delicious' Questions the Importance of Authenticity in 'Pizza' |url=https://www.eater.com/2018/2/23/17025722/ugly-delicious-pizza-recap-season-1-episode-1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111162804/https://www.eater.com/2018/2/23/17025722/ugly-delicious-pizza-recap-season-1-episode-1 |archive-date=2020-11-11 |access-date=2020-04-16 |website=Eater |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Somebody Feed Phil - New York |url=https://philrosenthalworld.com/somebody-feed-phil-new-york/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926114650/https://philrosenthalworld.com/somebody-feed-phil-new-york/ |archive-date=2020-09-26 |access-date=2020-04-16 |website=Phil Rosenthal World |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-02-19 |title=The Untold Story of How My Grandfather Brought Pizza to America |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-untold-story-of-how-my-grandfather-brought-pizza-to-america/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515060151/https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-untold-story-of-how-my-grandfather-brought-pizza-to-america/ |archive-date=2025-05-15 |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== *List of James Beard America's Classics *List of restaurants in New York City
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Restaurants in Brooklyn, New York}} {{Coord|40|34|44.1|N|73|59|1.51|W|region:US-NY|display=title}}
Category:Pizzerias in New York City Category:European restaurants in Brooklyn Category:Restaurants established in 1924 Category:Coney Island Category:America's Classics winners Category:1924 establishments in New York City