The Oldest Pizza Restaurant In The U.S. Is New York’s Lombardi’s And It’s Delicious
Nowadays, pizza in New York is everywhere. It’s become such an integral part of the state that it’s hard to imagine a time when it didn’t exist here. But it really wasn’t all that long ago that the first pizzeria in New York (and for that matter, America) opened up. You can still get pizza from that same restaurant today. Lombardi’s Pizza, the first pizzeria in America, is now only a block away from where it first opened 115 years ago.
Gennaro Lombardi was a bread maker from Naples who immigrated to America in the early 1900s. He opened up a small grocer in New York City in 1897 and began selling pizza slices to factory workers on their lunch breaks.
Lombardi's store was in the Little Italy neighborhood. Immigrants began meeting up there to socialize and reminisce. Life for new Americans could be very lonely and isolated. It's easy to see how places like this became vital parts of immigrant society.
In America, pizza didn't really take off in popularity until the 1950s. One contributing factor may have been the return of World War II veterans who had tried European pizza while fighting abroad.
The pizza here is simply delicious. This is definitely not a place to rest on its claim to fame as a history-maker. It's worthy of all the praise even on taste alone.
Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. Practically all of her free time is spent trapping and fixing stray cats. She also likes reading, playing Pokemon Go, and going to concerts. Her dog Cece is the best dog in the whole world. You can reach Lisa at lsammons@onlyinyourstate.com
