Grimaldi's Days In DUMBO Are Numbered!

Harris Graber's Flickr

You may recall that the wildly popular coal-oven pizzeria Grimaldi's was reportedly (briefly) seized by the taxman a couple of summers ago. The DUMBO destination quickly reopened, blaming the closure on "electrical problems," and everyone promptly got back on line. But today the Wall Street Journal reports that the flagship location is once again imperiled, because owner Frank Ciolli owes the landlord a lot of dough.

On Friday, the landlord, Dorothy Waxman of Florida, will ask a state Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn to evict Grimaldi's. She claims she's owed $44,000 in back rent, and her attorney tells the Journal, "Our client has just had enough. Somehow, those lines out the door aren't leading to our client getting paid her rent." For his part, Ciolli insists he's been paying rent on time "for the most part'' by giving Waxman post-dated checks in advance. "Certain people, there is no way to please them,'' says Ciolli, who also owes $12,250 in taxes to those ball breakers at the Finance Dept. And the city marshal served him eviction papers on July 27. Where's Michelle Obama when you need her?

Reached by phone at Grimaldi's this morning, manager Tina Peluso told us, "We're not going anywhere." But when pressed about the lease, which Ciolli has reportedly lost the right to renew, Peluso told us, "If we have to move, we'll move, to somewhere else in Brooklyn, or Manhattan, wherever." Grimaldi's has other locations on Queens and New Jersey, and supposedly has a new spot opening up in the Limelight Marketplace on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. But DUMBO is where it all started twenty years ago, and Ciolli's lawyer tells the Journal, "Here's a pizzeria that does a lot of business on a street where half the buildings are vacant. They should be thankful they're getting the rent that they're getting. It's an 1,100-square-foot cracker box."

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By John Del Signore in Food on August 11, 2010 10:44 AM

Comments [rss]

John L

Hey new park, higher rents, small businesses have to go.

There's no room in NYC for the little guys anymore.

I, for one, love Grimaldi's pizza but it'll probably get replaced by yet another franchise, maybe a Pizza Hut or Dominoes.

fulton ferry res

Grimaldi's (originally Patsy's) has been here in Fulton Ferry (not DUMBO, thank you) since 1990. And the photo is at least two years old because the trees next door are viewable (the owner of One Front cut them down).

erik123

How long have they been at this location, I think since the 40's? How is it they never bought this building or another one nearby in all that time?

ronshapley

Pizza Suprema, 8th and 31st .. Primo... as long as we're rating the pizza..

valeriob

Oh no! If they closed where would I go out of my way to stand in an idiot line for sub-par pizza?!

jza1218

Artichoke?

JenChungsBaby

If they had outdoor seating there then people could have real live Brooklyn Bridge rust and paint flakes on their pie.

harrisgraber

There are better locations. One great location would be near the Kaufman Astoria Film Studios in eastern Long Island City, sometimes called Dutch Kills and sometimes considered Astoria. It's an area that's rapidly developing. You've got Astoria's only movie theater, the Museum of the Moving Image, the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, and more.

Williamsburg is an obvious location, too. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Potty Boy

If they move, it will hurt the area. As much as I can't stand the hype, it's become a bit of a routine sight the lines of tourists, walking by on my way to the pier and to the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. And I do have to admit, pizza followed by ice cream is a good combo.

WorksInDUMBO

How arrogant to say that they should be grateful for "getting what they're getting". Rent is not a pay-what-you-think-it-should-cost agreement for anyone--if that were the case, I'd be paying my landlord $500/month for my apartment.

and yeah, that pizza is totally overrated, mediocre tourist fare.

cutlass

I don't think the tourists are lined up for the pizza. I think they want the authentic New York experience of watching somebody fuck over their landlord.

thenewsjunkie

This is a fictional historic location dreamed up to lure in the tourist buses. Why can't those tour companies take people to a real,authentic, historic brick oven pizzeria? There are many better places in Brooklyn and if they want a NYC brick oven pizzeria that has been around for ages, why not go to John's on Bleecker Street in the village? I hate it when I see people waiting in line for an hour or more to sit down at this place when it's a ruse.

ledbetter

How old is this pic? The line is going the wrong way. The pizza has degraded a little over the years, but it's still better than average.

I'm just glad that we have our own local spot out in Queens that puts Grimaldi's to shame.

longacre

There is a Grimaldi's in Queens now, in the Douglaston Shopping Center. There are also locations in Garden City and Hoboken. Looks like they've begun franchising out in Vegas and Phoenix, also.

SatelliteTimes

Years ago Grimaldi's had great pizza, but I visited recently & eh.. not so amazing. Still inexpensive & tastes ok, but not worth the trip to DUMBO.

JenChungsBaby

You see that's the thing, it's seven G's you owe me. Seven fucking G's, that ain't no joke.

Potty Boy

Where's that from?

JenChungsBaby

Why, do I amuse you?

Potty Boy

Oh shit! Can't believe I didn't know that.

*slaps forehead*

Potty Boy

They can't afford their rent? Yeah, right. *rolling eyes*

Effing tourists will line up for anything. It's the tourist books and all the b.s. hype. I'll betchu the tour operators get sweet kick backs.