John’s of Bleecker Street Pizza is located at 278 Bleecker Street in the center of Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, a historically Italian immigrant neighborhood.1 The iconic pizzeria, one of the oldest in New York, has been serving Neapolitan style pizza at this location for nearly one century. In 1915 Filippo Milone, an Italian immigrant opened the original pizzeria at 175 Sullivan Street. Giovanni John Sasso, also an Italian immigrant and husband of Milone’s niece, took over the Sullivan Street pizzeria in 1925. In 1929, Sasso founded John’s Pizza at the original Sullivan Street location. After losing his lease on Sullivan Street, Sasso disassembled his old coal-fired brick oven imported from Italy and relocated to Bleecker Street.2 Sasso operated the pizzeria until 1954, when he sold it to the Vesce Brothers. In the 1960s, Augustine (Chubby) Vesce bought John’s Pizzeria from his brothers. After Augustine’s death in 1984, John’s was taken over by his two children and Bob Vittoria, a longtime employee and nephew of the Vesce family. In 1993, Bob Vittoria became John’s majority partner. John’s is renowned for its tomato pie style pizza, which is baked in a coal fired brick oven.3
The pizzeria exclusively serves full pies in 14 inches or 16 inches and calzones that are baked at 850 °F (454 °C). “No Slices” as noted on the canopy are served. “John’s Original” pie is made with mozzarella and tomato sauce which is the foundation for all their pizzas. The “Sasso” is essentially the traditional John’s original pie with parmigiano cheese, oregano and black pepper. A variety of toppings from fresh basil to pork sausage to meatballs can be added to any pizza. Various specialty pizzas, salads and pasta are also offered. John’s is well known for its original wooden booths where patrons are allowed to carve their names.
A taste of history and a glimpse of the past can be found at John’s Pizza of Bleecker Street in the heart of Greenwich Village. For almost a century, John’s, a New York City landmark, has been crafting traditional coal-fired tomato pie pizza using generational recipes from the old country.
Campus: City College
Professor: Renee Romano
Location: 278 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10014
References: John’s of Bleecker Street https://johnsofbleecker.com/
Garcia, Dylan. (2019, July 29) ”John’s of The Village”, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. https://www.villagepreservation.org/2019/07/29/johns-of-the-village/
Scott’s Pizza Tours. (2024, October 29) “Oldest Pizzeria in New York City!” Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG1t7Q2BZ9s
Barett, Liz. Pizza, A Slice of American History, (Voyageur Press, 2014)
- John’s of Bleecker Street https://johnsofbleecker.com/ ↩︎
- Garcia, Dylan. (2019, July 29) ”John’s of The Village”, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. https://www.villagepreservation.org/2019/07/29/johns-of-the-village/ ↩︎
- Scott’s Pizza Tours. (2024, October 29) “Oldest Pizzeria in New York City!” Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG1t7Q2BZ9s ↩︎
