Andrew Bellucci

Bellucci was born on 21 January 1964, in Jersey City, New Jersey.[1]

Initially developed his skills in the East Village, Bellucci's fascination with the history of pizza drove him to rediscover the heritage of New York's pizza-making, tracing its origins to Naples immigrant Gennaro Lombardi.[1] This led him to resurrect a defunct coal oven in Little Italy, persuading Lombardi's grandson to endorse a pizzeria bearing the family name.[1] Later, Lombardi's Pizzeria was established.[2]

Bellucci emerged as a distinguished figure in New York's pizza scene in the 1990s, crafting artisanal pizzas that later influenced a new generation of chefs.[1] His renown was overshadowed by an earlier crime involving embezzlement at a Manhattan law firm, leading to his arrest and a 13-month prison sentence.[1]

Following his prison sentence, Bellucci ventured through a phase of professional obscurity, later resurrecting his culinary career in Malaysia.[1] His return to New York saw him fulfill a lifelong dream of opening his own establishment, Bellucci Pizza, in Astoria in 2020.[1] Further developments included a legal dispute over the naming rights to Bellucci's initial pizzeria in Astoria, which was eventually settled in a federal court in December 2022.[2]

Bellucci died on May 31, 2023, due to a heart attack.[3][4]