New York Metropolis’s Juliana’s Pizza was shuttered for the day on Wednesday in honor of founder and pizza guru Patsy Grimaldi, following his dying at age 93.
“We’re sad to share with you that our beloved co-founder and pizza luminary, Patsy Grimaldi, has passed away,” the Brooklyn eatery introduced on Instagram. “It will be hard to fully honor his legacy, but starting tonight, we will keep his table empty to begin to honor his incredible legacy.”
Grimaldi died final Thursday of pure causes, in line with Eater.
“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 mentioned in its publish. “Although he is no longer a ‘living’ legend, he will forever hold his rightful place in the pantheon of pizza icons.”
Grimaldi was thought of a pizza visionary, and tributes have poured in from fellow pizza cooks, rivals and aficionados.
“Patsy Grimaldi was such an important part of the pizza world. A true NY legend,” mentioned Anthony Mangieri, proprietor of Una Pizza Napoletana on the Decrease East Facet. “He was truly an artist and paved the path for all the elevated pizza shops of today.”
Grimaldi’s reign over the New York pizza scene was not with out controversy. Having bought his preliminary eponymous pizzeria to Frank Ciolli in 1998, Grimaldi needed to wage a struggle in courtroom when he got here out of retirement in 2012 to open Juliana’s. His new spot was in the identical DUMBO location as his unique Grimaldi’s, and subsequent door to Ciolli’s present-day Grimaldi’s.
Ciolli sued, alleging Grimaldi had violated a non-compete clause, however misplaced after a Queens County Supreme Court docket justice dominated the juxtaposition made for “healthy competition.”
At the moment the 2 eateries are nonetheless going robust, and in pleasant competitors amongst a cluster of pizza joints.
Grimaldi’s mourned its former rival on social media as a “true icon in the pizza world,” highlighting his “passion for coal-fired, brick-oven pizza and his commitment to quality” whose customary “continues to inspire us every day.”
Grimaldi was preceded in dying by his spouse and co-founding pizza associate, Carol Grimaldi, who died in 2014 at age 75.
