I immediately asked around and found out that the pizza place is closed and is unlikely to re-open,
It appears that the owner, who had bought the business in the past 5-10 years from its original owner Joe, was way behind on payment of rent and may have been evicted.
Someone seemed to think all the equipment has already been moved out of the store.
Apparently, things have been a bit slow for this pizzeria for a while now.
If all the information is correct and Vinny's is gone for good, will you miss their pizza or their rice balls? Which is your favorite pizza place in the neighborhood?
****Update****
Someone just forwarded the link to the NYC Department of Health. Looks like Vinny's was closed by the department in November 2015 for a host of issues. Here is a screen shot of the page.
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21 comments:
This one hurts.
My Ranking of Pizza Slices:
1. My Little Pizzaria
2. Facatis
3. Table 87 ($4, though)
4. (tie) Giardini Pizza
4. (tie) Pizza Cota Bene
4. (tie) Pronto Pizza
5. Sal's Pizzaria
6. Monty Q's
7. World Pie Pizza (friendly guy works there, though)
Never tried Vinny's. It was next on my list. I am open to criticism and aspersions about my list.
Place was decent. Always a bummer to lose a solid pizzeria in the 'hood, but Court St naturally has some stiff pizza competition.
As far as top pizzerias in the neighborhood, House of Pizza & Calzone is top dog (and it's not even close).
Their slices were mediocre at best. Not to be missed.
House of Pizza all day.
vinnies used to be pretty good. had definitely fallen off in terms or quality the past 2 years or so. nice guy though!
Buschenschank at Court & Sackett is technically speaking a German restaurant, but they have excellent pizzas. I'm addicted to their Villager pizza.
Aperture at Court between 9th & Garnet is also excellent. Probably best Italian food in the neighborhood in my opinion.
If you search the NYC DOH- looks like it was closed by the health dept due to lots of bad issues.
http://a816-restaurantinspection.nyc.gov/RestaurantInspection/SearchDetails.do
and search VINNYS PIZZERIA
been around forever and will be missed. Lots of friendly faces.
Vinny's Granmdma slice was really good! I will miss that. Anyone recommend a good Grandma pie in the neighborhood?
I hear that the storefront at Smith and 4th Street that's being renovated will be a Pizzeria. Surprising considering that Giardini is only 2 short blocks away.
You are correct, Jimmy. Just updated the post.
Vinnie's used to have the best Sicilian pie in the neighborhood, in my opinion. And pretty good calzones too.
Best Grandma slice by far is House of Pizza & Calzone. Mark's down in Red Hook has a nice grandma's as well.
I have to disagree with Joao - I've had the worst pizzas of my life at Bushenschank. I really wanted to like them, but considering everything I've read and heard about that operation, nothing surprises me.
I've been curious about Aperture, been meaning to check it out.
Aperture makes some of the best pies in BK (*gasp). Their grandma's pizza is the bee's knees and their meatballs the cat's meow. Also, everyone is really nice.
Just here to add my vote for House of Pizza and Calzone. The BEST pizza in a 2 mile radius. I actually just ate lunch there today. Super friendly staff as well. Thursday is my favorite day of the week, because it's Chicken Masala Pizza day.
Agreed about Aperture as well. Great for delivery.
Nice people, mediocre food at best.
I personally saw a large panel van there last Saturday moving out all the kitchen equipment. Also a Nat Gas truck was right behind with workers quickly shutting off the gas to the premises.
Oh well. I had a slice or two at Vinnys. I'm sorry for the employees.
The best slice, but not around here, though I do enjoy Girardini but only if it's from a fresh pie, is Best Pizza on Havermeyer.
The best part about Vinny's was their dough actually. We used to go and buy it ($5) all the time to make our own pizza. They'd throw some flour on it right there for you and you could go throw it on the grill or in the oven yourself for a very nice "homemade" pizza with your own favorite toppings.
The only time I had their pizza otherwise was late at night while having a drink at Abeline's, because there is very little else open after 10pm that is quick and handy around there. It was average by New York City standards. Not bad, but certainly not great. They were indeed very nice people. That list of health department violations sounds terrible though. Glad I never got sick.
Nice guys and open late but it was always worth the extra walk to Giardini's. Also, got food poisoning from a calzone at Vinny's a few years back. Bad experience.
I can't believe I forgot The Famous House of Pizza and Calzone in my listing above. It's definitely tied for first. You can tell a lot of love goes into their slices.
We liked Vinny's a lot. It could take them 45 minutes to have a pie ready and they were a bit inconsistent (overbaked crusts once in awhile, different amounts of toppings on different orders), but generally really good for old school New York pizza. And, yeah, the owner and the people working for them were really nice, so I hope everyone's landed on their feet.
Just saw the closing today. it looks like court is hosting many many closed and vacant commercial properties - a sign of rising rents.
Vinny's was excellent, one of the best. Their pasta dishes were next to perfection and the slightly costlier slices were addictive!
all the ingredients were authentic italian cheeses and tomato pastes. WOW, am I sorry to see them close shop.
A sign of the times.
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