A Good Sign: Rizzo's Fine Pizza


Old New York Pizzeria's often have good signage, but typically not of the neon sort. Rizzo's Fine Pizza in Astoria is a happy exception. That's got to be one of the peachier neon signs I've ever seen on a slice joint. And how many pizzeria's chose to describe their cuisine as "fine"?

Rizzo's was founded in 1959 by the brothers Joseph and Salvatore Rizzo, along with their brother-in-law Hugo Lupi. Squares are the order of the day here. Rizzo's specializes in thin-crust Sicilian, an unusual pizza genre.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Racine Landmark Totero's to Close After 75 Years

Image
Totero's, a priceless, one-of-a-kind Italian restaurant in Racine, Wisconsin, that I just discovered a couple years ago, is going to shutter on June 26 after 75 years in business. Totero's was founded by Calabrian immigrants Achille and Mary Totero as a tavern in 1939. It was subsequently run by their son Santo "Sam" Totero and his wife Virginia, and is still run by Sam's children Al and Angela. Al runs the bar, Angela the kitchen. Sam died in February 2011 at the age of 89. The building is a converted schoolhouse. The 36-foot bar was contributed by the Pabst brewery back during The Great Depression. Albert and Angela Totero have decided to retire. "It’s just been a long, hard road," they told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal , "and it’s just time. The place is old, and it needs some work." Their children have their own professions and don't want to take over. Totero's is one of the most unique places I've ever had the pleasure to vis...
Read more

Oyster Bar Neon Sign Found on Delancey

Image
I was walking down Delancey some weeks ago when my eye was caught be this corner restaurant. "I know that sign," I thought to myself. I went in an inquired at Grey Lady, the restaurant in question, and sure enough: it was the classic, double-sided neon sign that hung for more than fifty years over the Famous Oyster Bar at 54th Street and Seventh Avenue, until it went out of business in January 2014. The owners had bought it and salvaged it. I think it actually looks better on the desolate corner of Delancey and Allen. As some of you have doubtless noticed, I haven't posted much lately. I have been busy working on a couple books and a variety of other activities. So, for the time being, I'm going to let Lost City rest as a sort of permanent document of what New York was, and what New York has lost in the past decade. I will occasionally post when the spirit moves me. I've put too much into the site to let it die completely. In the meantime, thanks to everyone and a...
Read more

The History of the Valley Candle Company

Image
A couple years ago, I posted an item about how the television series "Miami Vice," in 1985, was allowed to blow up up an old business on Columbia Street called the Valley Candle Company. I didn't know much about the company when I wrote that post. Since then, however, I've been contacted by a descendent of the company's founder. That was Saverio DellaValle, pictured below. (Hence, the name of the business.) Saverio came to Brooklyn from Naples in 1905. He made religious candles and delivered them to the churches in NYC. An open-minded businessman, he also made candles for the religious Jewish holidays. There were family stories that, while he was making candles, Saverio ran a still running in the factory during Prohibition. There's an enterprising gent! The family sold the business in the '70s.
Read more