DeLorenzo’s Pizza, a staple of the famed De Lorenzo pizza family, has been shut down after the state of New Jersey seized the restaurant for failing to pay taxes.
The pizzeria, located at 147 Sloan Avenue in Hamilton and owned by Rick De Lorenzo Jr., has a notice of seizure posted on its front door. The notice, dated Tuesday, was issued by the New Jersey Division of Taxation, stating the business had been seized “for non-payment of New Jersey state taxes.” A spokesperson for the state Treasury Department confirmed to NJ Advance Media on Wednesday that the seizure was due to non-compliance with state tax laws.
Attempts to reach the restaurant by phone on Wednesday were unsuccessful, and a request for comment through DeLorenzo’s Facebook page was met with a request for privacy. No official announcements about the closure have been posted on the pizzeria’s website or social media.
DeLorenzo’s Pizza has been serving Trenton-style tomato pies and other Italian dishes at its Hamilton location since 2013, after relocating from its original site in Trenton, which had been open since 1961. The closure marks the latest chapter in the history of New Jersey’s most legendary pizza family.
The De Lorenzo family’s story dates back to the 1930s, when Pasquale and Maria De Lorenzo, immigrants from Naples, Italy, settled in Trenton’s Chambersburg neighborhood. In 1938, their son Joe De Lorenzo opened the first DeLorenzo’s Pizzeria, and Rick Jr.’s father, Rick Sr., became involved in the business during World War II. A second location opened in 1961 on Hamilton Avenue in Trenton, and the family continued to grow its influence in the local pizza scene. In 2013, Rick Jr. moved the business to Hamilton Township, where it operated until the recent closure.
It’s important to note that this location is not to be confused with another DeLorenzo’s, spelled with a slight variation, which was founded by Rick Jr.’s uncle, Alexander “Chick” De Lorenzo, in 1947. This second DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies was run by his daughter, Eileen Amico, until its closure in 2012. Another outpost of this separate De Lorenzo’s remains open in Robbinsville, with a branch in Yardley, Pennsylvania, which opened in 2018.
The closure of Rick De Lorenzo Jr.’s pizzeria adds a new chapter to the storied legacy of one of New Jersey’s most iconic pizza families.
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