Di Fara’s return wasn’t such a pie in the sky after all.
Owners of the famed Midwood pizzeria reopened their doors Thursday morning, two days after the state shut down the 54-year-old restaurant for failing to pay $167,506 in state taxes. Gov. Andrew Cuomo told NY1 that the state’s Department of Taxation and the restaurant’s owners worked out a deal in which the owners would pay their dues and the state would allow the shop to remain open.
"It’s a perfect outcome for everyone. People have to pay their taxes," Cuomo said.
Margaret Mieles, daughter of the shop’s owner, Domenico De Marco, posted an image on the restaurant’s Instagram account that showed her and two other employees beaming as they held up the keys to the open store. Mieles had previously said she made a six-year tax payment plan with the state years ago and only missed a tax payment in May, when Di Fara was shut down by the city Health Department.
News of Di Fara’s closing rocked fans across the city, including Mayor Bill de Blasio. He tweeted Wednesday that he was ready to do what he could to save the establishment and tweeted his excitement about the pizzeria’s comeback Thursday.
"This family-owned small business has been a Brooklyn icon for more than five decades. Glad to know the best slice in town will still be in Midwood for years to come," de Blasio wrote.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo had disagreed with the mayor’s vows to try to save the pizzeria, saying he wasn’t going to spend "$200,000 for their pizza." Cuomo, however, was less saucy about the restaurant on Thursday.
"I would say their pizza is fantastic," Cuomo told NY1.
Cuomo added that his office didn’t speak with the mayor about bringing Di Fara back simply because it was a state taxation matter.
