Another Grimaldi's Pizza Fight Over Oven, Name, Reputation, What Have You

The famous Grimaldi line. MK Metz

Aaaaand -- another Grimaldi's food fight!

 Frank Ciolli -- who purchased the Grimaldi’s Pizza name for $500,000 in 1998 -- is charging that pizza legend Patsy Grimaldi, 81, has illegally installed a coal-burning brick oven at 19 Old Fulton St. in DUMBO, reports the NY Daily News.

Grimaldi, who started the business years ago, has been in retirement for a decade. But now he plans to open Juliana’s, a new pizza place in the same building where he had his old pizza business -- right next door to Ciolli’s pizzeria at 1 Front St.

Sources say he's just fixing up the old oven, not installing a new one.

Two years ago Ciolli was evicted from 19 Old Fulton St. after not paying $44,000 in rent on time. Ciolli illegally installed a coal brick oven into 1 Front St. when he moved in, and he's still mad someone ratted him out.

Ciolli sued the landlord at 19 Old Fulton St. for allegedly scheming to steal the  brick ovens.

Blood has been bad between the two pizza men for years. In October, Grimaldi said that Ciolli ran the restaurant's "good reputation into the ground," according to the NY Post.

Nona Brooklyn provides a great description of the the history of Grimaldi's pizza madness.

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.