Lombardi Or Milone, Who Brought The First Pizza In New York City?

Pizza is an iconic dish of high popularity in America, eaten by 40 million Americans each day. It’s an easy midnight snack and a delicious group dinner preferred by everyone. 

So if you are an American, you definitely love pizza! Right? Why didn’t you wonder about the real history of pizza yet?

You must have searched how this Italian flatbread became an ingrained part of American cuisine? 

Your search is over! 

Because here I am going to trace the real godfather of New York City pizza. 

Well, like most of the Americans, pizza has also immigrated. From where? Italy. 

Folklore held for a long that legendary Gennaro Lombardi, an Italian immigrant was the first man who opened a pizzeria in New York City in 1905. But there is a little more to narrate in this tale. 

An intriguing collection of pizza-related information by the US Pizza Museum suggests that it seems pizza entered America before 1905 and Lombardi is not the real father of pizza in NYC. The reports also talked that there was another man who began the first pizzeria at 53 ½ spring street.  

Cooperate history Probed by Peter Regas 

Peter Regas, an independent researcher, and Chicago based statistician worked on the missing slice of pizza history in NYC and researched it deeply. 

In early 2009, while reading a newspaper about Chicago pizza, Regas came to know the other side of history. According to him, there is much untold in our cooperate history. Even how it separated from the Italian American community who survived before the start of the century. 

Regas researched Lombardi's pizzeria was originally run by the Filippo Milone, an Italian immigrant. In the 1890s, for the fresh start, Milone migrated to America along with other Italian folks. 

Further, He proclaimed that in 1910 Brooklyn business directories kept the inaccurate record of the new businesses launched by Italians after migration. Among the several pizzerias, the name of Milone might be slipped through the cracks. Instead, Lombardi would have been listed as the pioneer. 

So to trace the facts and find the address of Lombardi’s pizzeria, Ragas has scoured the newspapers and looked up all the bakers. Eventually, he discovered that pizzeria was listed under the name of a guy named Francesco D’Errico. And here he revealed the back story. 

The backstory

Regas came to know that in the early 20th century, there were several pizzerias involved in New York City pizza making, including legendary Gennaro Lombardi who had run his business at 53 ½ spring street. It is the same place where Francesco had his bakery. 

It seemed that the pizzeria industry was already well established in New York before Lombardi by Filippo Milone. The business directories suggest that Milone probably has opened six pizzerias in Brooklyn and Manhattan. He also has established a pizzeria on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village, known as John’s. 

Filipo Milone, a pizza maker in Naples arrived in new york in 1892

It is updated that before moving to the USA Milone was running a pizzeria in Naples and like several other men he chose to start the pizzeria after immigration. It’s not that he aimed to become a hero and first pizza maker in America but due to the knowledge and experience, this young man goes for this business.   

another pizza historian and the author of Viva la Pizza, The Scott wiener, pore over all the census, business directories, and draft cards to find the confirmed information. After detailed research, they figured out that until 1908 Gennaro Lombardi didn’t own a pizzeria and there is no evidence of him applying for the license. He confirmed that Lombardi, a huge name in the NYC pizza history is not really the first owner.  

Weiner shared his finding with regas. They both concluded that Lombardi was not the pioneer of NYC pizza. Instead, Milone was the lost forefather of pizza in New York at 53 Spring Street. Unlike Lombardi, Filipo had no family so his name slipped from the public memory. He died in 1924 and is buried in an unmarked grave in Queens. 

The early pizzerias in the US were visited by young male and Italian immigrants. Then in 1920 and 1930s some of the people boldly started to welcome women to take off this universally popular fast food. 

Final verdict

Summing up, shortly after the introduction, the pizza became the staple food in America. And In the mid 20 century, pizza engraved into the gastronomic map of America with several hungry punters gathering to the NYC to take the sample of genuine Italian American creation.    

I strived hard to forward the accurate and true history. If you are looking for more updates you can contact us or can check our another meticulous article on the pizza history updates.

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