MacDougal 'Di Fara' To Be Named DeMarco's

Posted by Adam Kuban, November 17, 2004 at 10:55 AM

This Pizzeria Has Since Closed

All is not lost for New York's pizza lovers. Sure, there was plenty of hand-wringing in recent weeks when Joe's Pizza and its overrated pies lost the lease on their fabled location at the corner of Bleecker and Carmine streets. But now, it looks like the best-rated pizza in the city is coming to Manhattan. The family behind DiFara's legendary pizzeria in Midwood, Brooklyn, has partnered with Jeff Schwartz, a retired schoolteacher, to open a restaurant/bar at the corner of Houston and Macdougal in the Village. The deal was not without its drama. When Mr. Schwartz, a longtime fan of DiFara's extra-thin crispy crust and hand-grated cheese, put up DiFara's signs at the new location, the pizzeria's founder, Domenico Demarco, was outraged, vowing that the name could only be used for his original spot. "I may have pulled the trigger a little early," admits Mr. Schwartz, "After all, the name means a lot to Domenico." After a few days of negotiation, Mr. Schwartz came to an agreement with the family on Nov. 16 to name the restaurant DeMarco's Pizzeria, with the family running the restaurant (DiFara's is a combination of the names DeMarco and that of his original co-founder) and looking to open in early December.

UPDATE: DeMarco's Is Open

FURTHER READING
All Slice posts on DeMarco's [The Slice Archives]

4 Comments

Tags: DeMarco's, Manhattan, NYC, Openings, The Village

4 Comments:

I'm curious to see if Mr. Schwartz will continue to include the diFara Zagat rating in future advertisements of his new establishment.

Slice Nancy at 3:42PM on 11/17/04

Yeah. Slice should take a look and see if those Zagat signs are still up. Even if Dom's kids are involved, it's not like that specific location has earned the Zagat rating. It's good to know that the Demarcos are somehow involved though. Maybe there's hope for this location afterall.

Adam Kuban at 4:39PM on 11/17/04

Didn't Joe's close because of high rents? How is Demarco's going to pull in that much more dough, so to speak? Can't see how Dom's careful (some might say slow) approach to each slice is going to work in a pricey area like that.

Slice John Rambow at 6:43PM on 11/17/04

Had a slice of their regualar pie. I have to say.....it's pretty close(almost there) to a DiFara's slice. (Very good as far as pizza goes) I was happy to see Dom's Daughter there overseeing the kitchen. Has potential!

Slice Mike at 10:39AM on 12/19/04

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