Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's (/ˈpɛpiz/), is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the United States.[1][2]
Frank Pepe
Frank Pepe (April 15, 1893 – September 6, 1969) was born in Maiori, Italy,[3] and immigrated to New Haven in 1909 when he was a teenager. He worked alongside other Italian Immigrants in Wooster Square in local factories, such as Sargent & Co., a manufacturer of locks and hardware.[4]
During World War I, Pepe returned to Italy to fight for his native country.[5] After his honorable discharge, he married Filomena Volpi who is also from Maiori, Italy.[6] They left Italy for New York in 1919.
Restaurant history
Upon returning to the United States, the Pepe's returned to Wooster Square.[7] Frank began working at a Wooster Street bakery.[8] He was known for walking through the Wooster Square market selling his "tomato pies" off of a special headdress. After saving enough money, he was able to buy a wagon from which he sold his pizzas.[9]
Pepe's restaurant began serving littleneck clams on the half shell at the bar. It was only a matter of time before he decided to put the clams on the pizza. The white clam pie is just crust, olive oil, oregano, grated cheese, chopped garlic, and fresh littleneck clams.[8] The restaurant will serve the pizza with or without mozzarella cheese, but they try to discourage customers from ordering it with mozzarella because they feel that it makes the pizza too heavy and rich. They are also adamant on using freshly shucked clams instead of canned clams; if fresh clams are not available, they will not serve the white clam pie. Three men are employed by Pepe's just for shucking the clams on location. Since its invention, the white clam pie has become the signature pizza of pizzerias in New Haven.
Pepe's continued success selling pizzas in the area enabled him to take over his employer's business and turn it into the first "Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana" on June 16, 1925.
Since opening a Fairfield, Connecticut location in 2006, Pepe's has expanded to sixteen locations in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida.[15]
Ovens
All Pepe's ovens are coal-fired and built in exactly the same manner from brick, based on the original. They measure 14 feet (4.3 m) by 14 feet (4.3 m) and cook pizzas in approximately 8 to 10 minutes.[16] The oven cooks at 650 °F (343 °C).[17]
Menu
A white clam pie from Pepe'sA red pie with bacon and spinach
All of Pepe's locations feature the same menu.[18] Salads and desserts are offered on the menu. Since 1925, Pepe's has exclusively served Foxon Park bottled sodas from East Haven, Connecticut. The restaurant offers soda, beer, wine, and several varieties of pizzas and toppings.
Locations
Pepe's has expanded outside of New Haven as a small family-owned chain. Frank Pepe's grandchildren are co-owners of the chain, including Gary Bimonte (1959–2021)[19][20] and Francis Rosselli.
All locations feature the same green and white design of their building and fixtures, a replica of the coal-fired oven, serve on the square pizza pans, and use the same suppliers for their ingredients.
Fairfield, CT (Opened March 2006)
Manchester, CT (Opened September 2007)
Uncasville, CT (Opened June 2009) inside Mohegan Sun
Additionally, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana serves slices out of the Mohegan Sun Arena when there are events.
The Spot
The piece of land which Pepe's restaurant sat on was owned by the Boccamiello family. They later made Frank Pepe leave so that they could start their own pizzeria at the establishment, which they renamed The Spot. Pepe moved his restaurant to its current location next door to The Spot in 1936. The Pepe family later bought back The Spot from the Boccamiello family in 1981 and it now serves the same menu as the older restaurant.[5]
Boccamiello's nephew Bear would open clams and sell them on the half shell to passersby in the alleyway between The Spot and Pepe's.[5]
Competition
Another Wooster Street pizza restaurant, Sally's Apizza, was founded by Pepe's nephew Sal Consiglio in 1938. Sally's and Pepe's have a long friendly rivalry and pizza fans are divided over which serves the better pizza.[21][22]Frank Sinatra, for example, was a fan of Sally's, while Ronald Reagan preferred Pepe's.[23]
2009: Pepe's was named the "Best Pizza on Earth" by The Guardian.[26]
2009: Alan Richman, food correspondent for GQ magazine, names the tomato pizza at Pepe's the twelfth best pizza in the country in the May issue.[27]
2009: Connecticut Magazine named Pepe's the best in the state.[28]
2010: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana was inducted into that Connecticut Hospitality Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.[29]
2013: Zagat said that the white clam pizza at Pepe's was the best pizza in the state, in an article naming the best pizza in each state.[30]
2013: The website The Daily Meal named the white clam pizza at Pepe's the best pizza in the country.[31]
2014: The Daily Meal named the white clam pizza at Pepe's the best pizza in the country for the second year in a row.[32]
Documentary
Pepe's is one of three pizza restaurants featured in the documentary film Pizza A Love Story, directed by Gorman Bechard. The film had its world premiere at IFFBoston in April 2019.[33] The film was released on DVD and pay-per-view on September 29, 2020.[34]
^ Francisco Pepe, New Haven Ward 5, New Haven, Connecticut, United States; citing ED 337, sheet 9A, line 45, family 170, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 192; FHL microfilm 1,820,192.
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