Gennaro Lombardi facts for kids
Gennaro Lombardi was an Italian immigrant who came to the United States in 1897. He is famous for opening the very first pizzeria in the United States, called Lombardi's.
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The Birth of American Pizza
Who Was Gennaro Lombardi?
Gennaro Lombardi traveled from Italy to the United States in 1897. He settled in New York City and opened a small grocery store in an area known as Little Italy.
How Pizza Came to America
At Lombardi's grocery store, an employee named Antonio Totonno Pero, who was also an Italian immigrant, started making pizzas. These pizzas became super popular! Because so many people loved them, Lombardi decided to open the first official pizzeria in the United States in 1905. He simply named it Lombardi's.
American Pizza: A New Style
Even though Lombardi was inspired by the pizzas from Naples, Italy, he had to change them for America. In Italy, pizzas were often cooked in wood-fired ovens and used mozzarella di bufala (mozzarella made from buffalo milk).
In New York, Lombardi used coal-powered ovens instead. He also used fior di latte, which is mozzarella made from cow's milk. These changes helped create the unique style of American pizza we know today!
Totonno's Own Pizzeria
In 1924, Antonio Totonno Pero, the employee who first made pizzas for Lombardi, decided to open his own place. He followed the new New York City Subway lines all the way to Coney Island. There, he opened his very own pizzeria, which he named Totonno's.
