Call It The Battle of Brooklyn Pizza's Two Johns

Today's new and narrow NY Times Metro section features a battle over pizza propriety. The Times reports Papa John's Pizza is opening right next door to Johnny's Pizza, a 39-year-old Sunset Park institution. John Miniaci Jr. whose father started the pizza parlor in 1968 is none too happy about this development and not just because Papa John's is a blight upon the very word pizza: Miniaci's father died just a month ago. In fact John Jr. knew about the franchise's plan to move in before his father died, but couldn't bear to tell him.

This isn't the first time a national chain has wrangled with the borough whose very name is synonymous with great slices. We all remember Domino's abominable Brooklyn Style Pizza and its equally abominable ad campaign with its caricature-like portrait of life in the County of Kings. But this new Papa John's franchise is quite literally too close to home. Thankfully residents of the tightly-knit community are not taking battle of the two John's lying down.

A petition “to stop the establishment of Papa John’s in our neighborhood.” has been signed by more than 2,000 folks and sent to the company's headquarters in that bastion of fine pizza, Kentucky. Many of those who signed the declaration are owners of nearby rival pizzerias. Here's what one told the Times:

“If we get short on cheese or tomatoes, we go to him or he comes to us,” said Gino Campese, the owner of Scotti’s Pizza. “When it’s time to raise prices, we get together. There’s room for everybody. But not for Papa John’s.”

Ouch! And aha, possible pizza price collusion - so that's why lots of pizza places manage to raise prices at the same time. Do the pizza owners also discuss raising prices with the MTA?

What kind of pizza places do you frequent - the mom & pop-type pizzerias or chains like Domino's and Papa John's? And is Famous Original Ray's a chain?

Photograph of a Coney Island mural by motormel on Flickr

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By Joe DiStefano in Food, Food on August 6, 2007 2:42 PM

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xiaanais

SUPPORT JOHNNY'S PIZZERIA

Has Johnny's Pizzeria ever supported your cause? Or do you simply love their pizza?

For almost 30 years, Johnny's Pizzeria has supported little leagues, local events and groups. Please show your support now when Johnny's Pizzeria needs it. A big box pizza chain is looking to open its doors right next door to Johnny's Pizeria. Please make phone calls, send emails and come out tonight!

SAY NO TO BIG BOX CHAINS

YES TO JOHNNY'S PIZZERIA

Rally and petition signing

Today August 7th

4:30pm to 7pm

5806 5th Avenue

Sunset Park, Brooklyn

Tim N.

Papa John's blows. Blows blows blows. I've had it, so I can tell you, it blows. Blows blows blows.

You know, when the Mob was running this town, we never had problems like this. I find myself thinking that a lot these days.

guest

This what happens when Big Companies move on small businesses . Personally, I stop eating pizza [10] years ago . (Don't like the fact they wear gloves while preparing, & Handling the food )Posted by; "Still Not Amused"

guest

"Can anyone suggest really good pizza in the Chelsea area? there's a lot of dreck around here..."

Try Maffei, great grandma slices there.

guest

In Astoria (on Astoria Blvd and Crescent) there is a "John's Pizzeria" and a Papa Johns. So I imagine they do it on purpose, maybe to try to steal business???? Via phone I imagine, because who would see the two side by side and go to Papa Johns?

Nick S

toby.

come on man! of course i saw the difara post! im the first commenter on it.

i had a big post defending chains and shit, but im giving up. you have your pamphlet-speak and i have my brainwashed-by-corporations rhetoric.. so lets just agree to disagree i guess

we should all be ashamed of ourselves though, this is the 35th post in a thread about papa john's pizza... don't ANY of us have anything better to do?

guest

Where's Travis Bickle when you need him?

angry_pickle

I agree. Pizza Hut and Dominoes pizza are totally 100% disgusting. But Papa Johns is not bad. And frankly if nobody wants to eat their pizza, they'll go out of business so what's all the crying about. Just maybe the local pizzeria's pizza isn't all that great after all; just like those nasty overpriced 3rd world "supermarkets" had a choke hold on neighborhoods until decent supermarkets like Whole Foods, Fairway, and Trader Joe showed up.

guest

I don' t know why everybody is dissing Papa John's. Obviously you've never tried their pizza. Of course Domino's and Little caesars are disgusting but Papa J0hn's is REALLY GOOD!!! It's the starbucks of Pizza joints. Meaning that the pizza is good. For some reason the pizza that they serve in the restaurant tastes like shit compared to the pizza they deliver. must be cause no one orders their slices. Chipotle, Quiznos and Papa Johns are the trifecta of good but not great franchises. You can go in there and pay a little more than mcD's and Burger king but it tastes good.

guest

Holy shit! This is AWESOME! I just moved to sunset Park and it was all bodegas and spanish and mexican crap. there is no starbucks or Quiznos around me and I really wanted a Papa Johns. Now is the beginning of the Gentrification of Sunset. As soon as they open the park on the west side of Costco I'll be set for life as soon as the puerto ricans start moving out.

guest

#4 How would somebody from Bklyn ever wind up in Tulsa operating a pizza parlor?

I'm guessing that it has something to do with the Witness Protection Program.

guest

I love Olive Garden. their all you can eat salad and breadsticks are winners. alfredo sauce is alfredo sauce, kinda hard to F it up.

Now Applebees is not my cup of tea, I'd rather go to Outback Steakhouse. I find Outback is better than Lone Star steakhouse.

I've never been to P.F. Changs so I have no comment on that chain.

Toby von Meistersinger

I take it Nick S missed this about DiFara re-opening.

Calling these chain outfits soulless is something that anyone who has any sense can see. It is just like any other soulless fast food outfit with drones who could care less going through the same motions that the rest of the company's drones are going through all so you can get the same food in Bay Ridge or Bejing.

Now I suppose that Nick S would propose that tourists go eat at The Olive Garden for an authentic New York experience?

guest

Link above goes to: Right in Bay Ridge blog at http://rightinbayridge.blogspot.com/

guest

One new blog, has an interesting take on this issue from a Bay Ridge perspective.

Nick S

"These soulless places don't deserve to exist"

says who? gothamist's resident TV watcher? oh, ok.

guest

I'd rather eat the 99cent slices on 7th ave and 37 st than papa johns.

guest

The end product of gentrification - vanilla pizza moving in to serve the midwesterners in their bland, manufactured condos.

sorry, even the blandest of midwesterners don't eat this crap when better pizza is available. bitch and moan all you want about transplants, but it's the locals who (for some godforsaken reason) keep these chains alive.

guest

It's funny to see people bemoaning the loss of neighborhood feeling and the horrors of deciding on a fair price for a slice in the same comment section. It's two sides of the same coin. Illegal, perhaps. Immoral, hardly. It's not like they're asking $4 for a cup of coffee.

Johnny's has great dinners as well as pizza. I'm glad I'm in their delivery zone.

guest

I've never been to Johnnie's (or Papa John's) but I want to run down there this week and get a pie to go just to show my support for them. Too bad for the local schmo who's putting up the money to own the Papa John's franchise, but he's contributing to the destruction of New York's character.

Now about that collusion thing -- I noticed that too when I read the article this morning. Can we get Joe Hynes on the case? But even with collusion, I'd still rather eat at Johnnie's than at Papa John's.