Considering all the moving Grimaldi's has done in the last few months, it's a pleasant surprise to hear of plans to open a new location in Coney Island, across from Luna Park. According to NY1, the mini-franchise's fourth NYC location "is expected to help Coney Island's development into a year-round destination." more ›

Yesterday, we were quite happy when word came that the city Buildings Department had given approval for Grimaldi's to install a coal-fired oven in their new Front Street DUMBO location, ending a month-long work standoff. And they wasted no time reopening, with lines around the block Saturday afternoon: "The Earth tilted back on its axis today. Long lines return at new Grimaldi's, all the way to the future Juliana's," tweeted FultonFerry. more ›

The drama over beloved Brooklyn pizzeria Grimaldi's and its rent dispute-prompted move around the corner continues: Grimaldi's employees had been promising customers the same coal oven pizza at the new location, but now the Post reports that the Department of Buildings "put the kibosh on plans by the world-famous pizzeria to move into larger space next door after learning that its operators quietly installed a coal-fired brick oven at the new site without approval." The pizza war is on! more ›

The DOH shuttering of Di Fara isn't the only big news in Brooklyn pizza today. On November 28 another staple of the Brooklyn pie-scene will be closing its doors forever...and reopening next door. People: It is the end of Grimaldi's as we know it! more ›

Oh Grimaldi's, Grimaldi's, Grimaldi's. As if the famed pizzeria didn't have enough on its plate with the rent dispute at its DUMBO home, a judge has ordered the pizzeria to cough up $2.3 million for defaulting on a 15 year lease for a space at 135 John St. Whoops! Meanwhile the restaurant's much-delayed 24-hour location in the old Limelight has no opening in sight. When we called the mothership to ask about its opening we got the honest-sounding reply: "we have no idea." more ›

You'll recall that back in August Grimaldi's landlord tried to evict the tourist-centric DUMBO pizzeria for falling $60,000 behind on rent. But a judge refused to enforce the eviction, and ordered the landlord to accept the late rent payments that owner Frank Ciolli insisted he'd been trying to give to the landlord (an old lady who lives in Florida named Dorothy Waxman). And now Ciolli wants payback, or something—the manager answering the phones over there couldn't care less. more ›

The Grimaldi family was in house at a Community Board 2 meeting on Thursday night, laying down plans for a possible Manhattan gamechanger. The family and partner Matt Grogan pitched plans to open a 62-seat pizza joint at 352 Bowery (current home of NOHO Lighting & Electrical Supply). However, they might need to tweak a few things before we can enjoy the cheesy goodness on the island. more ›

Following the lead of the First Lady, Lady Gaga headed to DUMBO to get a late dinner at Grimaldi's pizza last night. Allegedly! Reader Jane writes in: "I live across the street and was having a pizza with my sister... The restaurant was less than half full at 10:30 p.m. when Gaga walked in and ordered the pizza herself at the takeout counter (she was with a friend)..." more ›

In a surprise move, a judge has ordered Grimaldi's landlord to accept late rent payments and refused to enforce an eviction notice foisted upon the world famous coal-oven pizzeria. "There is a God!" declared owner Frank Ciolli as he left the courtroom today. "We’re staying in Brooklyn. Let’s go have some pizza." But there was quite a different scene outside the courtroom before the judge's ruling—the Brooklyn Paper reports that an ugly shouting match between Ciolli and the landlord got physical. more ›

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. more ›

Michelle Obama took her mother, daughters, and three of their friends to acclaimed Brooklyn pizzeria Grimaldi's yesterday, and what started out as a casual lunch is now reigniting longstanding tensions between two bitterly warring factions: the Chicago-style pizza crowd vs. NYC. more ›

We've gotten numerous reports that First Lady Michelle Obama is still in town (she took the kids to The Addams Family musical on Broadway Monday night), and she's been spotted today in Brooklyn. First we heard she was checking out the newly opened Brooklyn Bridge Park (which was closed off to the public during her visit), then she took the kids for lunch at Grimaldi's, which probably didn't help the already infamous line outside the pizzeria. more ›

Grimaldi's Pizza, one of Brooklyn's oldest and most popular pizza destinations, is expanding to Manhattan in a big way. Sometime in mid-April, the newly renovated Limelight Marketplace is expected to open, replacing the famous nightclub with over 60 boutique retailers in the 163-year-old deconsecrated Chelsea church. Grimaldi’s Pizza will fill an approximately 1,200 square foot location off the 6th Avenue entrance, and also sell pies out of a round-the-clock to-go window. It's unclear from the press release if pizza by the slice—not an option at the DUMBO Grimaldi's—will be sold, but this looks like a guaranteed hit either way. more ›

Yesterday Joe Biden fêted his wife with a romantic lunch at Brooklyn’s River Café. "It was a belated Valentine's," said owner Michael (Buzzy) O'Keeffe. A tourist from Oklahoma chatted Jill Biden up in the lady’s room, and the two went back to her table to meet the vice-president, reports the Daily News. "I shook his hand and said, 'Don't worry. Mine are clean.' He said, 'Mine are clean, too,'" she recounted. "They were very friendly, very lovely." As the Bidens dined on pear salad, warm goat cheese, potato terrine, and sirloin steak (cooked medium well) their beefy secret service escorts ordered a pie from Grimaldi’s. more ›

Newsday is reporting that beloved coal-oven pizza institution Grimaldi’s was shut down today by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. The paper's website has it that the Brooklyn restaurant was seized because of over $150,000 in tax warrants. Agency spokesman Tom Bergin told Newsday that Grimaldi's has been in a dispute with tax officials over allegedly unpaid state sales and withholding taxes for two years. more ›

If "butter" flavored popcorn and Sour Patch Kids aren’t your ideal movie snack food, then you'll probably find the New York City Food Film Festival much more palatable. Starting Saturday at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City, Queens, the festival will pair 18 movies with relevant munchies under the night sky. George Motz, who started the festival last year with chef Harry Hawk, says he wanted to create “a cinematic scratch 'n sniff where you can not only watch a food film but eat the food being shown in that film.” Which explains why Sweeney Todd isn't being screened. more ›