Pizza Icons Get Their Corner

The late Frank and Filomena Pepe, whose family of apizza icons pioneered New Haven’s most renowned cuisine, now officially have a street corner named in their honor.

The Board of Alders unanimously voted to honor the Pepes’ legacy on Wednesday night by naming the intersection of Wooster Street and Brown Street ​“Frank & Filomena Pepe Corner.” An official street sign bearing this name will soon be installed.

The corner naming coincides with the 100th anniversary of Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria.

Wooster Square Alder Ellen Cupo collaborated with U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro to facilitate the corner naming, gathering over 250 signatures from supporters. 

She recalled a family tradition in her childhood of spending Friday nights with her parents and sister at an annex of Pepe’s, The Spot.

“Over the years, this restaurant felt like my extended home. The wait staff — shout out to Jean, Fran, and Gary — became extended family,” Cupo said. Fast forward a few decades, and Cupo has ​“raised my two children, Hunter and Ada, on New Haven apizza.”

According to East Rock Alder Anna Festa, Frank Pepe first started selling his Naples-inspired apizza by walking through the Wooster Square market with pies piled on top of his head. He saved up for a wagon, and eventually a storefront, opening up Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Wooster Street in 1925. 

According to Festa, Frank’s wife, Filomena, shepherded the administrative side of the restaurant. ​“She ran that business,” Festa said. 

Festa highlighted the Pepes’ story as an example of how immigrants have made New Haven thrive. ​“This is the American dream,” she said. ​“It’s a message to everyone who comes to this country,” wherever they are from, that ​“if you take that risk, you can do it.”

The Pepes’ legacy lives on in that restaurant, which now garners long lines of both tourists and longtime residents — and, more broadly, in a hallmark style of apizza that’s anchored New Haven’s famous culinary culture.

The text of the order that alders passed Wednesday night delves further into the pizzeria’s history. Read it in full below:

WHEREAS, New Haven-style pizza, locally referred to as ​“apizza,” originated in New Haven in 1925 at Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, 157 Wooster Street;

WHEREAS, Frank Pepe immigrated to America as a teenager in 1909;

WHEREAS, after returning to Italy for a few years to fight in World War I he returned to New Haven to work in a pasta factory and then in a bakery on Wooster Street;

WHEREAS, while working at the bakery, Pepe started making his version of the classic ​“apizza” pronounced A‑beets, a style of pizza from his hometown of Naples;

WHEREAS, Frank Pepe began selling his ​“tomato pies” off a special headdress, walking through the Wooster Square market with several pies perched atop his head; 

WHEREAS, he eventually saved enough money to buy a wagon and continued selling the increasingly popular ​“apizza;”

WHEREAS, in June of 1925, Frank Pepe took over the bakery’s operation and established ​“Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana” on Wooster Street;

WHEREAS, the rest, as they say, is history;

WHEREAS, Filomena Pepe was a partner to Frank and his greatest supporter;

WHEREAS, unlike her husband, Filomena could speak and write in English, so she was invaluable in establishing and growing the business;

WHEREAS, she took care of all administrative tasks and other things requiring such knowledge;

WHEREAS, true to his humble roots, Frank Pepe’s restaurant first sold just two types of ​‘apizza,” one with tomatoes, grated pecorino cheese, garlic, oregano, and olive oil, and a second that also had anchovies;

WHEREAS, the original tomato pie is still offered today, and anchovy continues to be available as an added topping;

WHEREAS, like many small business owners of the day, Frank and Filomena lived in an apartment above the pizzeria;

WHEREAS, they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Serafina, parents and daughters worked downstairs at the pizzeria;

WHEREAS, active in his community, Frank Pepe became known as ​“Old Reliable” for his contributions to the neighborhood and for his unwavering love of his growing extended family;

WHEREAS, having established one of the first pizzerias in the country, Frank passed away in 1969; and

WHEREAS, in the late 1970s, Elizabeth and Seravina purchased the old bakery next door from the Boccamiello family and opened it as Frank Pepe’s The Spot, an annex to the main building.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED by the New Haven Board of Alders that in honor of Frank and Filomena Pepe’s contributions to the creation of New Haven style pizza, ​“apizza” the corner of Wooster Street and Brown Street is designated as ​“Frank and Filomena Pepe Corner” in perpetuity making their legacy in New Haven officially permanent.