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Mar 21, 2019 · According to a well-established legend, Gennaro Lombardi, an Italian immigrant who came to the United States at the turn of the 20th century, was the first person to open a pizzeria New York City.
- Overview
- Who Brought Pizza to America?
The passionate relationship between Americans and pizza may have begun with Filippo Milone, an Italian baker who faded into obscurity.
How did pizza, a saucy dish originating in a southwestern region of Italy, become so dominant in the United States? Legend has long recognized Gennaro Lombardi as the founder of the country’s first pizzeria. He supposedly received his business license for it in 1905, in Lower Manhattan. Over a century later, Lombardi’s is still selling slices on Spring Street.
But according to Peter Regas, a Chicago author and pizza historian, there’s a little more to the story. Before Lombardi immigrated to the U.S, there was another man named Filippo Milone who started pizzerias—including, it seems, the one Lombardi took over on Spring Street. Regas suspects Milone established at least six pizzerias after immigrating to the U.S. in the 1890s, a few of which—like Lombardi’s—became famous under someone else’s name.
WATCH: Full episodes of The Food That Built America online now. New episodes premiere Sundays at 9/8c on HISTORY.
Milone likely immigrated to New York in 1892. He seems to have made pizza dough back in Naples, and he probably began making and selling pizzas in his early years in the United States.
So why haven’t we heard of him before?
“The Brooklyn [business] directories were not that good at picking up Italians,” Regas says of the period in the late 1800s and very early 1900s, when many Italians were entering the U.S. Even Italians who were recorded may have had their names misspelled or their business incorrectly categorized (one entry labels Milone as a pastry chef, a possible mistake by someone who wasn’t familiar with “pizza pie”).
This means some early pizzerias—like Milone’s—slipped through the cracks.
Despite the lack of directory entries for Italian businesses, there is evidence that other Italian immigrants—one of whom may have been Milone—ran the Spring Street pizzeria before Lombardi. The teenaged, fresh-off-the-boat Lombardi likely began working there as an employee rather than owner. Though he’s certainly an early pioneer of New York City pizza, he’s only one of many people who brought the dish to the city.
READ MORE: Who Invented Pizza?
Feb 5, 2019 · New findings uncover an untold history of early New York City pizzerias. Lombardi’s and John’s on Bleecker Street likely share a previously unknown founder. A forgotten generation of late 19th century Italian pizza makers in America has been discovered, changing our understanding of how pizza arrived in the United States.
Sep 30, 2021 · Perhaps the most famous early 20th century U.S. pizzeria was at 53 Spring St. in New York City. Now called “Lombardi’s Pizza” (relocated at 32 Spring St.), it’s often claimed Gennaro Lombardi established the first U.S. pizzeria there in 1905.
Jul 17, 2009 · Although Gennaro is credited with opening New York’s first pizzeria, it may have been Antonio who came up with the pizzas. New Yorkers are serious about their pizza, and it all started with a tiny grocery store in today’s Little Italy and a group of young men who became the masters of pizza making.
Apr 28, 2023 · Gennaro Lombardi and Antonio Totonno Pero at 53 Spring Street. While this photo is traditionally labeled as 1905, recent evidence had been uncovered that places the year as 1908.
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Feb 6, 2019 · The typical origin story of American pizza is this: In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi applied to the New York City government for the first license to make and sell pizza in this country, at his grocery store on Spring Street in what was then a thriving Italian-American neighborhood.
