Trailblazing Brooklyn pizzaiolo Patsy Grimaldi dies at age 93

Patsy Grimaldi, founder of the beloved Brooklyn pizzerias Grimaldi’s and Juliana’s, died this month at the age of 93, after decades at the forefront of New York City’s pizza scene.

Though Grimaldi rose to fame in Brooklyn, he was born in the Bronx and learned the picks of the pizza trade, at his uncle’s restaurant, Patsy’s Pizzeria, in Manhattan.

Decades later, at age 57, he decided to open his own restaurant in Dumbo, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. Grimaldi and his wife, Carol, opened their Patsy’s Pizzeria — eventually re-named Grimaldi’s, after a lawsuit — on Old Fulton Street in 1990. The main draw of the new pizzeria: a rare coal-fired brick oven, the likes of which are now illegal in New York City.

The original Grimaldi’s on Old Fulton Street. Photo courtesy of J. Miers/Wikimedia Commons

Grimaldi’s quickly became famous for its hot, crispy pies with homemade crust and mozzarella cheese. Though pizza was nothing new in Brooklyn, Grimaldi’s was different.

“…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 caption mourning its founder. “Although he is no longer a ‘living’ legend, he will forever hold his rightful place in the pantheon of pizza icons.”

Pizzaiolo Anthony Mangieri concurred in his own social media post.

“He was truly an artist and paved the path for all the elevated pizza shops of today,” Mangieri wrote.

In 1998, though, Grimaldi sold the restaurant and retired — temporarily. In 2011, Grimaldi’s was booted out of its 19 Old Fulton St. location after a rent dispute, and while it quickly reopened next door, the original location was left vacant — with the brick oven still inside.

Grimaldi — then 80 years old — saw an opportunity. He and Carol decided to re-open their own restaurant at 19 Old Fulton St., making use of the oven once again.

Patsy and Carol Grimaldi outside Juliana’s. File photo by Paul Martinka

“We’re thrilled — we’re tired of being retired,” Carol told Brooklyn Paper at the time. “Patsy is so looking forward to having the pizza in his coal oven. He’s missed that a lot.”

The new restaurant, Juliana’s — named after Grimaldi’s mother — dished up familiar dishes as well as new specialty pies and desserts, though the jukebox still played plenty of Frank Sinatra, one of Grimaldi’s favorites.

Grimaldi and Carol worked side-by-side at the restaurant until Carol’s death in 2014.

“The good news is that he is now at peace and finally reunited with his late wife (and our other co-founder) Carol, who he missed so much,” Juliana’s wrote on Instagram.

To honor the pizzaoiolo’s legacy, Juliana’s will keep his table at the restaurant empty. His regular visits to the eatery were “the highlight of his days,” the post reads.