New York City’s Juliana’s Pizza was shuttered for the day on Wednesday in honor of founder and pizza guru Patsy Grimaldi, following his death at age 93.
“We’re sad to share with you that our beloved co-founder and pizza luminary, Patsy Grimaldi, has passed away,” the Brooklyn eatery announced on Instagram. “It will be hard to fully honor his legacy, but starting tonight, we will keep his table empty to begin to honor his incredible legacy.”
Grimaldi died last Thursday of natural causes, according to Eater.
“Patsy changed the New York City pizza landscape forever when he opened his eponymous pizza emporium in 1990 and made it ‘cool’ to come to Brooklyn!” Juliana’s said in its post. “Although he is no longer a ‘living’ legend, he will forever hold his rightful place in the pantheon of pizza icons.”
Grimaldi was considered a pizza visionary, and tributes have poured in from fellow pizza chefs, competitors and aficionados.
“Patsy Grimaldi was such an important part of the pizza world. A true NY legend,” said Anthony Mangieri, owner of Una Pizza Napoletana on the Lower East Side. “He was truly an artist and paved the path for all the elevated pizza shops of today.”
Grimaldi’s reign over the New York pizza scene was not without controversy. Having sold his initial eponymous pizzeria to Frank Ciolli in 1998, Grimaldi had to wage a fight in court when he came out of retirement in 2012 to open Juliana’s. His new spot was in the same DUMBO location as his original Grimaldi’s, and next door to Ciolli’s present-day Grimaldi’s.
Ciolli sued, alleging Grimaldi had violated a non-compete clause, but lost after a Queens County Supreme Court justice ruled the juxtaposition made for “healthy competition.”
Today the two eateries are still going strong, and in friendly competition among a cluster of pizza joints.
Grimaldi’s mourned its former rival on social media as a “true icon in the pizza world,” highlighting his “passion for coal-fired, brick-oven pizza and his commitment to quality” whose standard “continues to inspire us every day.”
Grimaldi was preceded in death by his wife and co-founding pizza partner, Carol Grimaldi, who died in 2014 at age 75.
“The good news is that he is now at peace and finally reunited with his late wife (and our other co-founder) Carol, who he missed so much,” Juliana’s wrote.
