Patsy Grimaldi, an iconic figure in NYC’s pizza scene who most recently owned the Dumbo pizzeria Juliana’s, died of natural causes on Thursday, February 13, the New York Post reports. He was 93.
Grimaldi is a legend in the obsessive world of NYC pizza-making. A New York native, Grimaldi worked in his family’s pizza restaurant, Patsy’s Pizzeria in East Harlem, before branching out and opening his own version of Patsy’s Pizzeria (eventually called Grimaldi’s), with his wife Carol in Brooklyn in 1990, according to the Post. He commissioned the first coal oven built in NYC in over 50 years for his pizzeria.
“It’s also important to remember that Patsy changed the New York City pizza landscape forever when he opened his eponymous pizza emporium in 1990 and made it ‘cool’ to come to Brooklyn!” Juliana’s wrote in an Instagram post announcing Grimaldi’s death. “Although he is no longer a ‘living’ legend, he will forever hold his rightful place in the pantheon of pizza icons.”
In the ‘90s, Grimaldi’s coal-fired, brick oven pizza changed the local pizza-making game. He is largely credited with sparking the overarching wave of modern pizza shops that are now a fundamental part of NYC’s pizza scene. “He was truly an artist and paved the path for all the elevated pizza shops of today,” Anthony Mangieri, the owner of celebrated Lower East Side wood-fired pizzeria Una Pizza Napoletana, wrote in a post on Instagram.
The pizza legend was also involved in a number of old-school NYC pizza showdowns. Grimaldi had to rename Patsy’s Pizzeria to Grimaldi’s in 1995 following a lawsuit over the name, the Post reports. A few years later, Grimaldi got out of the game and sold the pizzeria, plus naming rights, to Frank Ciolli in 1999, who moved the pizza shop next door following a landlord dispute. But Grimaldi’s retirement was temporary: Thirteen years later, he debuted his new pizzeria Juliana’s (named after his mother) at the site of the original Grimaldi’s — which was right next to the current, Ciolli-owned Grimaldi’s. Both pizzerias are still going strong today.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Patsy Grimaldi, a true icon in the pizza world,” Grimaldi’s Pizzeria posted on Instagram. “Patsy’s passion for coal-fired, brick-oven pizza and his commitment to quality set a standard that continues to inspire us every day.”
Since his death, Juliana’s has been keeping Grimaldi’s table empty “to begin to honor his legacy,” the restaurant wrote in its Instagram post. The pizza shop will also be closed on Wednesday, February 19, to honor the late pizzaiolo’s memory.
