Just add "Original" to the signage and viola! (Flickr user wallyg)

Regular New York pizza eaters are familiar with a variety of Rays: Ray's Pizza, Famous Ray's Pizza, Famous Original Ray's Pizza, and even the occasional "World-Famous Original Ray's Pizza," too. So when the Famous Ray's on 6th Avenue and 11th Street in Greenwich Village closed in October, not all slice-hounds were terribly concerned. And why should they be? As it turns out, Famous Ray's is being reborn as Famous Original Ray's. Will anyone be able to tell the difference?

The Famous Original Ray's Pizza that sued Famous Ray's Pizza last summer (not to be confused with the actual, legitimate original Ray's, which also closed this year) for trademark infringement has bought the shuttered pizzeria and will reopen "soon," according to their Facebook page. A call to the restaurant yields only an automated message that "we are temporarily closed for renovations," which is basically a polite way to say "nyah nyah, suckers" to your shuttered competition.

For what it's worth, the deceased Famous Ray's drew raves for its "tangy sauce," "crispy delicious crust," and its "extra cheesy" slices, while the Famous Original Ray's in the Lower East Side has been lambasted as "The worst of The Famous Original Rays in the city," serving pizza with "a stale crust and pungent cheese that left that annoying wisp of sour stink above your lips."