Pepe's

Pepe's was founded in 1925 by Frank Pepe (April 15, 1893 – September 6, 1969), an Italian immigrant. Pepe was born in Maiori, Italy, and immigrated to New Haven in 1909 when he was a teenager. The quintessential Wooster Square Italian immigrant took a job at a New Haven factory, but wasn't fond of continuing there. During World War I, Pepe went back to Italy to fight for his native country.[3] Upon returning, he soon landed a job at a Wooster Street bakery.[4] Pepe began walking through the Wooster Square market and sold 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.[5] He was so successful that he was eventually able to take over his employer's business and turn it into the first "Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana" on June 16, 1925. Frank Pepe died on September 6, 1969.

Pepe's originated the New Haven-style thin-crust apizza[6][7][8] (closely related to Neapolitan-style Italian pizza) which he baked in a coal-fired brick pizza oven. Originally, Frank Pepe only made two varieties of pizza: the "tomato pie" (tomatoes with grated pecorino romano cheese, garlic, oregano, and olive oil) and the other with the addition of anchovy.[9]

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.[3]

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.

Since opening a Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, location in 2015,[10] Pepe's has expanded to fifteen locations in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida.[11]

A white clam pie from Pepe's

A red pie with bacon and spinach

All of Pepe's locations feature the same menu.[12] 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.

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.[13] The oven cooks at 650 °F (343 °C).[14]

Pepe's has expanded outside of New Haven as a small family-owned chain. Nine relatives are co-owners of the chain, including grandsons Gary Bimonte (1959–2021)[15][16] and Francis Rosselli. All locations feature the same green and white design of their building and fixtures, serve on the square pizza pans, and use the same suppliers for their ingredients.

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.[17][18] Frank Sinatra, for example, was a fan of Sally's, while President Ronald Reagan preferred Pepe's.[19]

Pepe's is also a major tourist attraction in New Haven.[20]

• 1999: Pepe's was named to the James Beard Foundation's list of "America's Classics".[21]
• 2006: Pepe's is acknowledged on the History Channel's American Eats show as the originator of New Haven-style pizza in 1925.[22]
• 2009: Pepe's was named the "Best Pizza on Earth" by The Guardian.[23]
• 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.[24]
• 2009: Connecticut Magazine named Pepe's the best in the state.[25]
• 2010: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana was inducted into that Connecticut Hospitality Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010.[26]
• 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.[27]
• 2013: The website The Daily Meal named the white clam pizza at Pepe's the best pizza in the country.[28]
• 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.[29]

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.[30] The film was released on DVD and pay-per-view on September 29, 2020.[31]

• List of Italian restaurants
• List of pizza chains of the United States

• Official website
• Frank Pepe's review at Slice
• Roadfood.com listing, with review by Michael Stern