Pursuing Pepe: Reaching Out to the Originator of New Haven Apizza

/ Frank Pepe / By

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, better known as Pepe’s, is a legendary pizzeria chain that has been serving delicious pies for nearly a century. It didn’t appear on my radar until 2018 when Dave Portnoy reviewed it on his popular One Bite Pizza Review YouTube show.

Who was Frank Pepe?

After seeing Portnoy’s review, I had to know more about this iconic restaurant. Knowing nothing about Frank Pepe’s, I had to do my research. Here is what I discovered:

Frank Pepe, an Italian immigrant, came to New Haven and one of his first jobs was working in a bakery. He took the skills he learned and established his own bakery in 1925 on Wooster Street. The bakery later became a pizzeria, and Frank Pepe is considered by many as the originator of what is known as New Haven apizza.

New Haven-style pizza is characterized by a thin, coal-fired crust with a slightly charred and crispy texture. The pizzas are cooked in a coal-fired oven, which gives the crust a unique flavor that you won’t find anywhere else.

One of the signature dishes at Pepe’s is the Original Tomato Pie, which is a crust topped with crushed tomatoes, grated pecorino Romano cheese, freshly chopped garlic, and olive oil. What I found interesting is that in New Jersey, some of the pizzerias call their pizzas tomato pies. I wonder if there is a New Jersey connection.

I started watching YouTube videos about Pepe’s, Sally’s Apizza, Modern Apizza, and this thing called New Haven apizza (pronounced ah-BEETS). I suddenly became fascinated by this regional style of pizza I never knew anything about.

Reaching out to Frank Pepe New Haven to see if I could tour the place

So, knowing I was heading to Boston and was going to dine at the historic Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, I reached out to the restaurant to see if I could get a tour of the place.

Look, I understand my place in the pizza pecking order. I have a ridiculously small website and a small, but growing, YouTube channel. My focus has been more on the videos than the blog. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I visited Pepe’s Contact Us page, and sent this message:

My original dream was to one day try Frank Pepe's New Haven Apizza, didn't realize I would tour the place, shoot video, and write about it.

The response I received from Victoria Ohegyi was more than I could have hoped for. We shared a few emails back and forth about what I wanted to do. Here was my wish list:

  • Exterior shots
  • Inside dining room
  • Kitchen shots of making pizzas
  • Short interview with manager

I didn’t realize the restaurant had an open kitchen (at least most of it was open), and I know how difficult and disruptive it can be trying to get into a busy kitchen (I worked at Italian, Mexican, and American cuisine restaurants as a young man) and just talk with people, let alone shoot video.

Victoria’s reply: “You can shoot everything listed.”

My jaw dropped. Wow.

She didn’t know me from Adam; she had to have seen I didn’t have a lot of content on my blog; and she had to have known that other than my New York Dough 2.0 video that garnered more than 5,000 views, my pizza videos do not get a ton of traffic.

Yet, “You can shoot everything listed.”

She arranged for me to meet and interview General Manager Paul Hahn and Manager Dan Parillo of Pepe’s New Haven.

I was beyond ecstatic. I was going to finally make it to Pepe’s, one of the pizza pilgrimages I knew I had to make so that I could fully appreciate the New Haven pizza scene and add another kind of pie to my pizza styles blog post and video.

The Frank Pepe New Haven tour was a go!

My wife, Wendi, and I have been to Lombardi’s, considered the country’s first pizzeria, and we have been to Pizzeria Regnia/Polcari’s, voted not too long ago as the country’s best pizza (and my personal favorite).

But, to be going to Pepe’s New Haven was something special. I couldn’t believe it.

Our road trip began Friday afternoon, June 2, 2023. Pepe’s was a nine-hour drive away (according to Google Maps, but as much as Google knows, it doesn’t know how many stops I need to make).

As we were making our way through Scranton, Pa., it started to rain. So, we called it a night. When we awoke Saturday morning, we would be about three hours away (notwithstanding traffic, detours, and my stops).

My initial dream was just to try Pepe’s iconic pizza, with that simple tomato sauce and black char on the bottom and on the crispy crust. When Pepe’s New Haven came onto my radar, I didn’t have the pizza blog or YouTube channel. So, getting a tour, interviewing the managers, and shooting video was beyond my wildest dreams.

Thank you, Victoria, for making this dream come true.

Note: This is part of a six-part series: Pursuing Pepe: The Frank Pepe Experience

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