Photo: Ethan Harfenist
Lucia Pizza, the Brooklyn-born slice shop we first reported was heading to the neighborhood back in March, opened its doors today, Monday, October 5.
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The new shop is at 159 Columbus Avenue, between West 67th and West 68th Streets, in the 869-square-foot space previously occupied by a Starbucks. That Starbucks was one of three on the Upper West Side to close in September 2025 as part of the chain’s “Back to Starbucks” restructuring plan.Lucia announced the opening on Instagram with a graphic that lists hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. for opening day and invites neighbors to “come by & pick up your pie.” In the caption, Lucia calls the new shop the fifth iteration of “the South Brooklyn classic” and thanks Upper West Siders who checked in on the shop along the way for their patience. The post had drawn more than 1,300 likes as of Monday morning.
The brand got its start on Avenue X in South Brooklyn and drew early attention with a Pete Wells review in the New York Times. It later expanded to SoHo and Gramercy, and opened on the Upper East Side in January 2025.
The family’s pizza history goes back much further, though. According to Lucia’s website, owner and head chef Salvatore Carlino comes from a pizza lineage with roots in Sicily. His parents, a pair of Greek and Sicilian immigrants, opened a Brooklyn pizzeria called Papa Leone shortly after arriving in the U.S. The site says the name Lucia means “light,” a nod to what it describes as a lighter, healthier take on New York-style pizza.
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Pizza is available by the slice or the pie. Standouts on the menu include the Papa Leone, a vodka pie that shares its name with the family’s original pizzeria, and the Salsiccia, topped with Italian sausage, red onions and Calabrian chilis on a whipped ricotta base. There are also Grandma and Sicilian squares, along with pasta, calzones and garlic knots.Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
