pizzeria napoletana the frank pepe sign on wooster street restaurant information established 1925 1925 food type new haven style pizza dress code casual street address 157 & 163 wooster street city new haven state connecticut postal code zip 06511 5709 country united states coordinates 41 18 10 n 72 55 01 w 41.302907 n 72.916933 w 41.302907 ; 72.916933 coordinates 41 18 10 n 72 55 01 w 41.302907 n 72.916933 w 41.302907 ; 72.916933 reservations not taken website pepespizzeria.com frank pepe pizzeria napoletana known locally as pepe s is a popular pizza restaurant in the wooster square neighborhood of new haven connecticut at 163 wooster street . opened in 1925 it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the united states . 1 2 contents 1 frank pepe 2 restaurant history 3 menu 4 ovens 5 locations 6 competition 7 business 7.1 notable visits 8 see also 9 references 10 external links frank pepe edit 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 at the age of 17 . the quintessential wooster square italian immigrant took a job at a new haven factory but he hated it . during world war i pepe went back to italy to fight for his native country . 3 upon returning he soon landed a job working at a bakery on wooster street . 4 pepe began walking through the wooster square market and sold his tomato pies off of a special headdress . clarification needed after saving enough money he was able to buy a wagon from which he sold his pizzas . 5 he did so well with his pizzas 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 . restaurant history edit 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 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 newer restaurant . 3 in the alleyway between the spot and pepe s boccamiello s nephew bear would open clams and sell them on the half shell to passersby . 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 as opposed to canned clams ; if fresh clams are not available then 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 . in march 2015 pepe s released their plans to expand into the boston market . 10 on december 16 2015 they opened their chestnut hill location . 11 menu edit a white clam pie from pepe s a red pie with bacon and spinach all 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 . ovens edit 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 locations edit 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 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 . 163 wooster street new haven ct the spot 1925 157 wooster street new haven ct 1936 238 commerce drive fairfield ct march 2006 221 buckland hills drive manchester ct september 2007 1 mohegan sun boulevard uncasville ct mohegan sun resort & casino july 1 2009 1955 central park avenue yonkers ny november 2009 15 59 federal road danbury ct january 2011 16 1148 new britain avenue west hartford ct september 23 2013 199 boylston street chestnut hill ma december 16 2015 17 competition edit 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 . 18 19 frank sinatra for example was a fan of sally s while president ronald reagan preferred pepe s. 20 business edit pepe s is a busy establishment and new havenites will cheerfully wait in line outside the restaurant for hours in all kinds of weather . 19 having to wait to be seated is almost as much of a new haven tradition as the pizza itself . 19 pepe s is also a major tourist attraction in new haven . 21 1999 pepe s was named to the james beard foundation s list of america s classics . 22 2006 pepe s is acknowledged on the history channel s american eats show as the originator of new haven style pizza in 1925 . 23 2009 pepe s was named the best pizza on earth by the guardian . 24 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 . 25 2009 connecticut magazine named pepe s the best in the state . 26 2010 frank pepe pizzeria napoletana was inducted into that connecticut hospitality hall of fame on december 7 2010 . 27 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 . 28 2013 the website the daily meal named the white clam pizza at pepe s the best pizza in the country . 29 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 . 30 notable visits edit robert de niro henry winkler kelly clarkson meryl streep bill murray ernest borgnine john turturro bill clinton kevin james and vince vaughn have all visited the new haven location . 31 see also edit list of italian restaurants list of pizza chains of the united states references edit levine ed . 2006 02 16 a slice of heaven american pizza timeline slice pizza blog . slice.seriouseats.com . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . mariani john 2010 11 24 . america s great historic restaurants . forbes . a b c ed levine 2005 . pizza a slice of heaven . universe publishing isbn 0 7893 1205 0 a b penny pollack & jeff ruby 2005 . everybody loves pizza . clerisy press anthony riccio 2006 . the italian american experience in new haven . state university of new york press welcome to the original frank pepe pizzeria napoletana home . pepespizzeria.com 1969 09 06 . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . jane stern michael stern roadfood the coast to coast guide to 600 of the best barbecue joints lobster shacks ice cream parlors highway diners and much much more broadway books 2005 isbn 0 7679 2264 6 p. 19 you say sally s i say pepe swooster street legends deliver to die hard crowds the new haven register serving new haven connecticut . nhregister.com 2002 07 21 . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . the original frank pepe pizzeria napoletana history . www.pepespizzeria.com . retrieved 2016 03 15 . https pepespizzeria.com pizza pepes pizza prepares to enter into the greater boston area http fortune.com 2015 12 16 pepes pizza boston welcome to the original frank pepe pizzeria napoletana menus . pepespizzeria.com . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . frank pepe s pizza comes to yonkers metromix hudson valley . hudsonvalley.metromix.com 2009 11 24 . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . pizza with a side of guilt my permanent record welcome to the original frank pepe pizzeria napoletana directions . pepespizzeria.com . retrieved 2010 02 16 . the original frank pepe pizzeria napoletana home http fortune.com 2015 12 16 pepes pizza boston reinhart peter 2003 . american pie my search for the perfect pizza . isbn 1 58008 422 2 a b c shelton jim . you say sally s i say pepe s new haven register 2002 07 21 hot slice of history to be served up in fairfield food & beverage food industry from allbusiness.com frommer s exploring america by rv 4th edition . isbn 0 470 03885 3 welcome to the james beard foundation . jamesbeard.org 2010 07 04 . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . american eats pizza the history channel 29 june 2006 fox killian september 13 2009 . the 50 best things to eat in the world and where to eat them . the guardian . london . retrieved may 2 2010 . american pie alan richman . gq 2009 10 13 . retrieved on 2010 12 13 . welcome to the city of new haven economic development no headline the new haven register serving new haven connecticut 50 states 50 pizzas . zagat . september 24 2013 . retrieved 22 october 2013 . bovino arthur . 101 best pizzas in america . the daily meal . spanfeller media group inc. retrieved 23 october 2013 . 101 best pizzas in america . the daily meal . retrieved 4 september 2014 . vince vaughn kevin james promote the dilemma at pepe s in new haven hartford courant external links edit official website frank pepe s review at slice roadfood.com listing with review by michael stern retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title frank pepe pizzeria napoletana & oldid 727679629 categories pizzerias in the united statesbuildings and structures in new haven connecticuteconomy of new haven connecticutitalian american cuisineitalian restaurantsitalian american culture in connecticutrestaurants in connecticutvisitor attractions in new haven connecticutrestaurants established in 1925hidden categories coordinates on wikidatawikipedia articles needing clarification from may 2013 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as 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