Will one of the country’s most iconic pizza shops change hands in 2026? The current owners of Totonno’s Pizzeria Napolitana say it’s very possible.
The family members behind Totonno’s, founded in 1924 on Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, announced in mid-2024 that they were looking for an investor or buyer to take over the legendary pizzeria, which has been firing pies in the same coal-burning oven for more than a century.
But that process has taken some time, according to the New York Post.
Currently, sisters Antoinette Balzano and Louise “Cookie” Ciminieri own Totonno’s with their brother, Frank. Balzano is 74 years old, and Frank is 85. They’re all grandchildren of the late Anthony “Totonno” Pero, founder of Totonno’s.
Since announcing their interest in selling Totonno’s, they have reportedly received more than 200 offers from potential buyers and investors. They hope to find someone who won’t make major changes to the classic pizza joint. And there’s at least one prospect that looks promising, Balzano told the Post. She wouldn’t give a name, but, she said, “I have somebody that I really would love.”
“I think this is going to be the year,” she said. “It has to be, whether it be a sale or partnership. Something has to be done.”
A native of Italy, Pero worked as a pizza maker for 20 years at Lombardi’s, which opened in 1904 and is widely regarded as the first pizzeria in the United States. But Lombardi’s started out as a grocery store, not a restaurant. Pero’s descendants—and many others—credit him with actually introducing the U.S. to pizza. He reportedly persuaded Gennaro Lombardi to sell pies along with standard grocery items at his store.
So that would mean Pero was not only Balzano’s grandfather; he was the granddaddy of U.S. pizza.
“He brought pizza to America,” Balzano told the Post. “Without him, there would be no pizza.”
Zagat once said that “Only God makes better pizza” than Totonno’s, and the single-unit shop, a member of PMQ’s Pizza Hall of Fame, received a James Beard Award in 2009.
Today, however, Pero’s grandkids don’t have anyone in the family to take over the pizzeria. “At our age and our health, we can’t do this ourselves,” Balzano said. “I’m old, very old. How much more can you do?”
But parting with her family’s century-old shop will be sweet sorrow. “Totonno’s was always my child,” Balzano said. “It was my baby. It’s very hard to let go.”
