Joe’s Pizza, a historic New York City pizza establishment with storefronts across Manhattan and Brooklyn, hosted an unofficial opening of its first location outside of NYC Monday evening on South University Avenue. The newest location is situated under the new apartment complex Vic Village, between East University Avenue and Church Street. The restaurant offered free pizza to students who attended the soft opening.
The news of the restaurant’s opening was first announced in a Reddit post praising the authenticity of Joe’s Pizza and claimed the restaurant is currently the foremost pizza shop in NYC.
“I’ve lived in NYC and visited countless times before and since, and Joe’s isn’t just real authentic New York pizza,” the post read. “This is the best pizza the whole city, hands down.”
Joe’s Pizza was founded in Greenwich Village in 1975 by Pino “Joe” Pozzuoli, an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in the 1950s, and has since been dubbed one of the most iconic pizzerias in the city by Eater NYC. The franchise expanded outside its original Greenwich Village location for the first time in 2013, when it opened in the East Village. Currently, Pozzuoli’s grandson Salvatore Vitale oversees the Manhattan locations.
LSA sophomore Magda Wojtara visited Joe’s soft opening Monday evening after she heard they were giving out free slices of their pizza. Wojtara said she saw about 50 people in line but only waited about 15 minutes to get her slice.
“I think it’s really good, especially the size of the piece is significantly bigger than the portion sizes you get (anywhere else),” Wojtara said. “For the price, it’s kind of unbeatable.”
In an email to The Daily, Pozzuoli wrote Joe’s will open permanently on South University Avenue in the near future.
“We should be all set any day now,” Pozzuoli wrote.