Historic Naples Eatery L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele Opening NYC Outpost
By Nicholas Rizzi April 13, 2021 2:50 pm
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The historic Naples, Italy, pizzeria L’antica Pizzeria da Michele will bring its wood-fired pies to New York City for the first time.
L’antica Pizzeria da Michele signed a 12-year lease for 5,600 square feet at 2 Bank Street between Waverly Place and Greenwich Avenue, according to landlord brokers Lee & Associates NYC. Asking rent for the space was $150 per square foot. Eater New York first reported the news.
The pizzeria was founded in 1870 in Naples and was cited by the Michelin Guide as “one of the oldest and best pizzerias” in the Italian city. L’antica Pizzeria da Michele’s original location only serves two types of pies — seafood and Margherita — and hands out numbered tickets to customers waiting outside.
L’antica Pizzeria da Michele first came stateside in 2019 with a location in Los Angeles. The eatery — which plans to import its ingredients from the original Italy location — plans to open its Greenwich Village outpost this winter and will take over from Spanish eatery Barraca, Lee NYC said.
Its new spot will have 2,800 square feet on the ground floor for a coffee bar and salumeria, along with the main dining room, according to Lee NYC. It will also have 2,800 square feet in the basement for a wine cellar.
“They will thrive in this neighborhood filling a niche and bringing life to one of the best restaurant sites in Manhattan,” Lee NYC’s Brad Schwarz said in a statement. “Restaurateur Francesco Zimone and his team — which helmed the Los Angeles opening — will benefit from Greenwich Village’s renowned, trafficked restaurant scene.”
Schwarz represented the landlord, Sky Management, along with colleague James Ficelman. Piero Massimino and Francesco Cirillo of UBIQ New York handled it for the tenant.
Cirillo, who said he would frequently travel from Rome to Naples on the weekends during law school to eat at the original L’antica Pizzeria da Michele, said the search for space started before the pandemic and landed on this space because of its location and outdoor seating.
“As a Neapolitan, I was very proud of this,” Cirillo said. “It’s a great location. We checked several locations and [Zimome] was more for Manhattan rather than Brooklyn, and this was the best in Manhattan that was available.”
