Papa's Tomato Pies

Last updated
Papa's Tomato Pies
Papa's Tomato Pies
Restaurant information
Established1912
Owner(s)Nick Azzaro
Previous owner(s)Giuseppe "Joe" Papa
Head chefNick Azzaro
Food typeItalian
Street address19 Robbinsville-Allentown Road
City Robbinsville
State New Jersey
Postal/ZIP Code08691
Country United States
Website Papa's Tomato Pies

Papa's Tomato Pies is a historic pizzeria selling Trenton tomato pies in New Jersey. It was founded by Giuseppe "Joe" Papa in 1912 on South Clinton Avenue in Trenton, New Jersey. [1] [2] Papa's is the oldest family owned and longest continuously operating pizzeria in the United States, [3] as well as the second oldest pizzeria in the United States after Lombardi's Pizza (Lombardi's closed for a decade from 1984 to 1994 and was reopened under new management). [4] [5]

Contents

History

Papa's Tomato Pies was established by Giuseppe "Joe" Papa in 1912 on South Clinton Avenue in Trenton and a few years later, moved to Butler Street. [2] In 1945, the restaurant moved to 804 Chambers Street and then, in 2013, moved again to Robbinsville-Allentown Road in Robbinsville, New Jersey. [6] Papa learned the trade from Joe's Tomato Pies, which opened in 1910, before opening his own restaurant. Joe's closed in the late 1980s. [1]

Joe Papa's daughter, Teresa "Tessie" Papa and her husband Dominik "Abie" Azzaro eventually took over operations in the 1960s. [2] During the 1950s and 60s Papa's would remain open until 3 am serving late workers and patrons who just left local bars. [1]

Papa's is currently operated by Joe Papa's grandson, Nick Azzaro, a third generation Italian-American. Azzaro has been making pizza for over fifty years and has worked for Papa's since he was 14. [5]

More recently, Papa's has also become known for its signature mustard pie, which features a thin layer of spicy brown mustard under the cheese and sauce. [7]

Ratings

In 2010, Papa's won the Munchmobile Pizza Patrol awards for the six best pizzas in New Jersey, winning the Award of Excellence. [8]

In 2012, Papa's was ranked one of the 35 Best Pizzas in America. [9]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Jill P. Capuzzo (2010-01-12). "The Original". NJ Monthly.
  2. 1 2 3 "History of Papa's Tomato Pies". Mack's Truck of Wisdom. 2008. Archived from the original on 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
  3. Breslouer, Lee (2015-06-24). "The 21 Oldest Pizzerias in America". Thrillist. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  4. Nick Fox (2011-07-27). "Trenton Pizzeria Stakes Claim to Being the Nation's Oldest". New York Times .
  5. 1 2 Joel Rose (2011-08-15). "For Slice Of Fame, Pizzerias Spar Over 'Oldest' Title". NPR.
  6. Mike Davis (2013-08-26). "Papa's Tomato Pies opens in Robbinsville after 101 years in same Trenton neighborhood". NJ.com.
  7. Jeremy Schneider (2023-08-02). "NJ.com pizza trail, stop 9: America's oldest tomato pies still cut the mustard". NJ.com.
  8. Peter Genovese (2010-01-29). "Pizza Patrol names best pizza in New Jersey". NJ.com. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  9. The Daily Meal (2012-09-18). "Best pizzas in America 2012". Fox News.

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