National Pizza Week is drawing attention to the famous pizza scene in New Haven, where locals and visitors alike are celebrating the city’s rich pizza tradition.
“New Haven is really good. We’ve been to Sally’s, Pepe’s, Modern, and we like them all,” said Sal Restuccia, a resident of Niantic.
New Haven-style pizza dates back to the early 1900s, beginning with Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The city’s pizza scene grew with the addition of Sally’s Apizza, Modern Apizza, and Zuppardi’s Apizza.
“New Haven’s pizza scene started as a local, Italian American tradition. By the 1950s and 60s, it became more widespread, and by the 1970s, the lines for pizza started forming,” said Colin Caplan, New Haven’s “Pizza Guru” and founder of Taste of New Haven Food Tours. “Today, it’s a massive industry, a major employer, and a key part of our economy and culture.”
Caplan, who has studied and taught the history of New Haven pizza for over a decade, believes the style’s simplicity is what makes it so popular.
“It doesn’t matter what burns it, as long as it’s cooked and charred—thin and crispy, thin and chewy—that’s how we like it. New Haven is about simplicity, pure ingredients, and tradition,” Caplan said.
This unique style of pizza left a lasting impression on Max Lewis, a visitor from London who came to New Haven over a year ago. His experience was so emotional, it changed his life.
“I cried,” said Lewis, known as ‘Mr. Apizza UK.’ “I’m not crying about pizza. I’m crying about the history. I love this. I sit in this room, and I feel something much bigger than me, bigger than pizza.”
Inspired by his experience, Lewis opened his own pizza shop in London last summer, where he now serves New Haven-style pizza, learned from mentors in the city.
“I’m bringing home to where I was born. Since I came here, it feels like I’ve been here before,” Lewis said.
Although National Pizza Week has brought added attention, people like Caplan, Lewis, and those at Modern say the celebration should continue year-round.
“It feels like finally, our story is getting out there. There’s so much to be proud of in Connecticut, and this is a great time to reflect and support these small businesses,” Caplan said.
Lewis added, “It’s the best pizza in the world. It’s not just the pizza capital of the U.S.; it’s the pizza capital of the world.”
This month, the New Haven pizza community is also supporting a pizza relief fundraiser, where Connecticut pizzerias are raising money for victims of the wildfires in Los Angeles through the nonprofit Slice Out Hunger.
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