{"id":15680,"date":"2025-06-18T23:37:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/uncategorized\/13442\/"},"modified":"2025-06-18T23:37:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T03:37:59","slug":"13442","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/who-knew-blog\/13442\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating 100 Years of Frank Pepe\u2019s: A Centennial Slice of History"},"content":{"rendered":"

One hundred years of ah-BEETZ and counting. \u00a0That\u2019s how long Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has been serving up sizzling coal-fired pies from the heart of Wooster Square – cementing its place as a New Haven icon and national treasure.<\/span><\/p>\n

To mark the milestone, the city is pulling out all the stops. A yearlong lineup of pizza specials and events is underway, all leading up to a public celebration on June 20, 2025, at Pepe\u2019s original New Haven location. Expect DJs, giveaways, and a fundraiser benefiting the Connecticut Food Bank – a tribute to the late Gary Bimonte, a beloved member of the Pepe family and community.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Humble Beginnings<\/b><\/p>\n

It all started in 1925, when Italian immigrant Frank Pepe and his wife Filomena opened a small bakery at 163 Wooster Street. Their simple, coal-fired \u201ctomato pie\u201d topped with garlic, oregano, olive oil, and pecorino quickly won over the neighborhood – and earned Frank the nickname Old Reliable. Long before it became a household name, Pepe\u2019s was a scent on the breeze, a shout from the street: \u201cApizza, apizza!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Rise of a Legend<\/b><\/p>\n

In 1937, Pepe\u2019s moved next door to 157 Wooster Street – the flagship spot still firing pies today. Frank and Filomena\u2019s daughters, Elizabeth and Serafina, carried on the family craft, eventually expanding Pepe\u2019s to 17 locations across seven states, all still using coal-fired brick ovens and sticking to the original recipe for that signature charred crust.<\/span><\/p>\n

And in the 1960s, a game-changer hit the menu: the white clam pizza. No sauce, no mozzarella – just fresh clams, garlic, pecorino, oregano, and olive oil. It\u2019s since been dubbed one of the best pizzas in America.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Slice of Cultural History<\/b><\/p>\n

This spring, <\/span>The Washington Post<\/span><\/i><\/a> spotlighted Pepe\u2019s centennial, honoring its immigrant roots, multigenerational legacy, and status as a cornerstone of New Haven\u2019s Little Italy. <\/span>CBS Saturday Morning<\/span><\/i><\/a> also celebrated the pizzeria\u2019s story, tracing its journey from sidewalk sales to national fame, and its place alongside fellow apizza legends like Sally\u2019s and Modern.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frank Pepe\u2019s isn\u2019t just turning 100 – it\u2019s making history, one slice at a time. Stay tuned for more on how New Haven is honoring a century of tradition, flavor, and community.\u2014cent\u2019anni<\/em>, Pepe\u2019s!<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One hundred years of ah-BEETZ and counting. \u00a0That\u2019s how long Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has been serving up sizzling coal-fired pies from the heart of Wooster Square – cementing its place as a New Haven icon and national treasure. To mark the milestone, the city is pulling out all the stops. A yearlong lineup of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[659,655],"tags":[618],"table_tags":[],"class_list":["post-15680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eat-drink","category-who-knew-blog","tag-pizza"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2W7A3523-scaled-1-1140x445.jpg",1140,445,true],"list":["https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2W7A3523-scaled-1-463x348.jpg",463,348,true],"medium":["https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2W7A3523-scaled-1-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"full":["https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2W7A3523-scaled-1.jpg",2500,1875,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15680"},{"taxonomy":"table_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mnh.silvermangroup-dev.com\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/table_tags?post=15680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}