Oldest Pizzeria

A SLICE OF LONG ISLAND

At one of the region’s oldest pizzerias

Eddie Fanelli established the famed Eddie’s Pizza in New Hyde Park in 1931. Now owned by Joseph DiVittoro, it’s one of Long Island’s oldest pizzerias. It began as a bar, serving its renowned thin-crust “Bar Pie.” Throughout the years, the bar grew into a full-size, sit-down restaurant, but the casual atmosphere and cheesy goodness of the pizzas remain.

The pies at Eddie’s Pizza are different from those of other pizzerias; in the basement below the restaurant, the crusts, or shells, are made from the original recipe brought over from Italy. They are also prebaked to allow the pizzas to be prepared quicker and just as customers want them. “So, half toppings, whatever combos you want, it’s made fresh in the brick ovens,” DiVittoro explained.

He said also said that, unlike a regular pizza, the Bar Pie only has seven or eight grams of fat and 270 calories per slice. And Eddie’s Pizza strives to make a difference in the community. The restaurant does charity work in the area, such as allowing children with special needs to come in and make their own pizzas.

DiVittoro said one of the best parts about Eddie’s Pizza is “the kind of clientele we get in here: people of all creeds, colors, races, different economic backgrounds and everything else.” Story and photos By Annabel Hofmann