Dallas to get its own branch of famed New York pizzeria Grimaldi’s

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — A world-famous pizza is coming to town: Grimaldi's, a small chain whose roots go back to the very beginnings of New York pizza, will open a branch at West Village in mid-November.

If you're talking pizza, it doesn't get much bigger than Grimaldi's, hailed by many to be the best in New York (and therefore, the world). It has an elaborate history dating to 1933, when Patsy Lancieri opened Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem. After he died, the name Patsy’s was sold and his nephew Patsy Grimaldi subsequently opened Grimaldi’s. Grimaldi’s is now owned by the Ciolli family, with three branches in New York (Brooklyn, Hoboken, and Long Island), and a recent flurry of outposts in Las Vegas and Phoenix.

The Dallas branch is going into the new West Village extension, where an oven has already been lovingly assembled, brick by brick, one that will fire coal, just as they do in New York -- and locally at Coal Vines. But where Coal Vines is more of a pizza-slash-wine-bar with a wider menu, Grimaldi’s will be all about the pizza.

"We have a very simple menu," says spokesman David Fieramosca. "Three sizes of pizza, calzone, three salads, an antipasto plate, and desserts – cheesecake, tiramisu, and cannoli. And there you have it."

This tight focus on pizza puts it in a league similar to Olivella’s in Snider Plaza and, closer to home, Campania, which is right around the corner at West Village. However, Campania’s pizza is more straight-from-Italy versus the New York personality of Grimaldi’s, which will have classic checkered tablecloths and - yay - a full bar.

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