It takes a lot to upstage Nino Coniglio, the accomplished pizzaiolo from Brooklyn, New York. Co-founder and co-owner of Williamsburg Pizza, as well as Coniglio’s Old Fashioned, Coniglio won the “pizza episode” of Chopped and was named 2016 Pizza Maker of the Year at the International Pizza Expo. These facts are less surprising when you consider Coniglio is the only pizza maker to apprentice for the legendary Dom DeMarco at Di Fara Pizza.
But when Coniglio opened Lucky Charlie in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn in June 2025, a lot of the buzz centered around the shop’s coal-fired oven. According to Brooklyn Magazine, the oven was built by German bakers in the 1800s and is thought to be the oldest coal-fired oven in New York City—or possibly even the U.S. at large, according to Time Out.
“I’m a guy who’s obsessed with pizza,” Coniglio told Brooklyn Magazine. “So being the steward of a coal oven from 1890, in a neighborhood that used to be the largest Sicilian enclave in the world, it’s a pretty special feeling.”
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The oven sits in the basement of a space once occupied by Verde Coal Oven pizza on Irving Avenue in Bushwick, a joint where Coniglio worked in the late 2000s. When Verde went out of business in 2015, a concept called Pizza Party took over the space. More recently, Coniglio acquired the space to launch his latest venture, Lucky Charlie, named in honor of Verde Coal Oven founder Charlie Verde.
In a video posted by Brooklyn Paper, Coniglio discussed more of the history behind the oven. He said the oven was discovered by Verde when he acquired the building in the 1940s. It had become an afterthought, buried in the basement, but Verde had it restored.
The oven isn’t the only thing historic about Lucky Charlie. The shop is a true throwback, with family photos decorating the old wooden walls. The menu features “hefty, eight-slice pies,” according to Brooklyn Magazine, with “a thickness and pliability that allows for easy folding when your crew attacks these beasts.”
The menu offers three different bases for a pizza: “classic” (fior di latte and San Marzano tomato sauce); “red” (sauce plus garlic and pecorino); and “white,” featuring stracciatella and Asiago. The menu also includes pasta dishes, focaccia (with assorted dips and spreads) and a slew of seafood appetizers.
On a recent episode of Peel: A PMQ Pizza Podcast, Tony Gemignani discussed the rounds he’d made in New York City on a recent trip, including a visit to see the oven in action. Gemignani was discussing the oven in the context of the industry’s progression—and how what’s “new” sometimes harkens back to age-old traditions.
“I was there the other night, and [Coniglio] was cranking out pizza, smoking his cigarette,” Gemignani said. “It was pretty cool—pizza is always evolving, so it’s great to be able to experience something like that.”
