Gennaro Lombardi



Gennaro Lombardi was an Italian immigrant who moved to the United States in 1897, and known for allegedly opening the first pizzeria in the United States, Lombardi's. He opened a small grocery store in New York City's Little Italy. An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero, also an Italian immigrant, began making pizza for the store to sell. Their pizza became so popular that Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in 1905, naming it simply Lombardi's.

Although Lombardi was influenced by the pies of Naples, he was forced to adapt pizza to Americans. The wood-fired ovens and mozzarella di bufala were substituted with coal powered ovens and fior di latte (made from cow's milk), and so began the evolution of the American Pie. In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's and followed the expanding New York City Subway lines to Coney Island, where he opened Totonno's.

In 2019, suspicion was raised about whether Gennaro Lombardi was the true founder, after a search of his birth record, naturalization papers, and other supporting documents show he first came to America in November 1904 at age 17, classified as a "laborer." If he became involved with the pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring Street in 1905, it was as an employee not as an owner. Research suggests Filippo Milone opened the pizzeria.