Welcome back Totonno's
By Michèle De Meglio Posted on February 22, 2010
Coney Island's most famous pizzeria is back!
On Friday, February 12, Totonno's Pizzeria finally reopened at 1524 Neptune Avenue.
"It's one of the greatest things that could have happened and one of the happiest moments of the year," said Chuck Reichenthal, Community Board 13's district manager.
Calling himself a "big fan," Reichenthal announced, "The best pizza anywhere in the city is right here on Neptune Avenue."
Totonno's co-owner Cookie Ciminieri is elated to see the beloved eatery up and running again.
"We were busy on Friday and Saturday. It was great," she told this paper. "Everybody said they missed us so much. Everybody was happy that we came back."
The eatery was nearly destroyed in a fire last March. After a months-long renovation, Totonno's looks just as it did when it opened in 1924. Every inch of wall space is covered with photos and newspaper clippings and the wooden booths are back.
"It looks pretty much the same as it did before the fire, except it no longer has the awesome black and white checkered floor. The pies took a while to come, but I'm guessing it's because they were relatively busy," Nick Sherman wrote on http://slice.seriouseats.com, a pizza-centric blog. "The pizza was just as good as I remember it being — all served with the same Brooklynite charm."
Totonno's will soon have an official reopening ceremony, Ciminieri said.