Original Mama’s Pizza to Close Location, Relocate Nearby

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Mama’s Pizza is looking for a new home. The longtime Upper West Side slice shop, currently located at 941 Amsterdam Avenue at West 106th Street, is expected to suspend operations this week as it searches for a new location in the area, according to Frank Tuttolomondo—grandson of Marianinna, famously known as Mama, who passed away at 101 four years ago—and nephew of Joe and Alfonso, who helped her run the operation over the years.

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Frank has his own pizzeria, Mama’s Too, one avenue over at 2750 Broadway, and previously worked at Mama’s Pizza before launching his own business. Still, the Mama’s name represents a synergy between the two operations.

“The space needs a lot of work,” said Frank when asked about the closing, citing cosmetic issues with the ceiling and basement, as well as utility problems. “We wouldn’t be able to do business and make the best pizza.” He noted that his family has been operating out of the current location for over 20 years. “We love the neighborhood, we love that corner, but there are other opportunities out there, and things didn’t work out with management at this address.”

We’re told the Mama’s Pizza legacy will continue soon. “We are active in talks to move to another space down the block,” Frank texted us.

“I can’t tell you how many relationships started at Mama’s Pizza on that corner. Mama’s Too wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Mama’s Pizza, of course,” said Frank, who added that the business has had to move multiple times over the years—dating back to the 1960s, when it went by the name Prima Pizza and was located near the old Metro Theater.

Frank credits his entire family for teaching him how to be the best he can be.

“One of the things that my grandmother, my uncles, and my parents have instilled in me is hard work,” he said, “and being on site every day to make sure you give the best quality possible.” It should come as no surprise that Mama’s Too was included on The New York Times list of “The 22 Best Pizza Places in New York Right Now.”

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Born and raised on the Upper West Side, and now president of the Upper Westside League—a longtime neighborhood softball league that began with first-generation Dominican immigrants in 1982—Roberto Gomez said Mama’s Pizza “is a reminder of the old-school Upper West Side” when he first alerted us to its impending closure. Fearing it would be a loss for the community’s culture, Gomez was relieved to learn that Mama’s Pizza is working to stay in the neighborhood at a new location. His go-to order is an “original grandma slice with some Zeppoli.”

Frank also enjoys the grandma pizza at his grandmother’s namesake spot—a menu item he said he introduced to the business. “But, you know, the round regular pizza is something that my grandmother did forever, so that’s my favorite thing. And that’s actually the first pizza we made at Mama’s Too.” He emphasized that his grandmother’s business isn’t moving far—they want it close by—noting that there’s always been a reason his shop has stayed just a short walk away.

“We give the neighborhood the best of both worlds—your classic New York-style slice at Mama’s, and the kind of pizza we do at Mama’s Too.”

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