Blaze Causes Extensive Damage at Original Totonno's

A fire broke out today at legendary pizza joint Totonno's in Coney Island, forcing it to close its doors for the time being. A worker was inside when the coal oven caught on fire, but no one was injured. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze that quickly spread to roof of the building. Waitress Jami Heirmerle was at the scene when the incident occurred and said that they are still trying to figure out what caused it. The restaurant opened in 1924 by Anthony "Totonno" Pero and remains family owned and operated. Chuck Reichenthal of Community Board 13 told the News, "I don't know what it will take, but it will reopen. It's part of the DNA of Coney Island."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Billy Parker in News on March 14, 2009 7:32 PM

Comments [rss]

marino photography

i am happy totonnos is re-opening. I just hope it is 6 weeks like they are saying.

i did a photo shoot there a month ago for my own nostalgic reasons - hopefully this link wets your appetite until our favorite and best pizza place is back!

http://danmarinophoto.blogspot.com - drop my a comment and let me know what you think. i wanted to showcase it in an old light but add relevant color to signify how it is still going strong today.

sexisicilian

hey snoopy--the establishment was there since 1924 without changing much for a reason. You go for the pizza not the sign and those who know better know it is still one of the best pizzerias in NYC and probably the U.S. Not everything has to change for it to be better...

aprilnyc

I was planning on going today also.

I liked the photo of the Ramones, but the baseball photos and newspaper clippings were a big part of the atmosphere.

We went on the way to Cylone's games.

blablanyc

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

I need Totonno's! I've been going there since the 1970s.

audrita

this is awful, but very good no one was hurt. i was going to have some birthday pizza there today!

David McCaffredy

While I'm sure they'll reopen, one of my favorite things about Totonno's was looking at all the old autographed thank-you notes throughout the years on their walls. Mostly old boxing champs from the '30s and '40s and the Yankees during the Mantle era. I fear all of that may have been lost in the fire.

Snoopy

Nothing personal about the joint's pizza skills, but don't you think that a place that's been in business for 85 years could get a better sign? I wont even mention the quality of the faux stone work that they did back in the late fifties.

Must be a classy neighborhood judging by the overhead roll down riot gate.

According to Pizza-thrower Jami Heimerle, 23,"It's been family owned for 85 years and we've had the same customers for that same amount of time," she said.

Wouldn't they want a younger clientele? Have they seen their customer base drop significantly over the last thirty years to forty years? It's pretty hard to stay in the slice business when you only cater to individuals that were born before Garibaldi.