Latest news with #MassimoLaveglia
Eater
23-07-2025
- Business
- Eater
How L'Industrie Keeps Customers Happy Despite Long Lines
A version of this post originally appeared on July 23, 2025, in Eater and Punch's newsletter Pre Shift, a biweekly newsletter for the industry pro that sources first-person accounts from the bar and restaurant world. This send is the first in a three-part series on high-volume restaurants, presented by Square — the technology company that makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible. L'Industrie Pizzeria, according to co-owners Massimo Laveglia and Nick Baglivo Where: New York City The backstory: Tuscany native Massimo Laveglia opened his New York-style slice shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2017, with Nick Baglivo joining in 2018 as general manager and co-owner. The staff went from the two of them and a dishwasher to about 80 people as business exploded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading them to expand their original location twice, then add a second shop in Manhattan's West Village in 2023. Here, the partners discuss their business strategy and managing the ever-present lines. On long lines Laveglia: As much as people think that we love it, we hate lines. We're trying to be as fast as we can. The problem is the capacity we have in the oven: We can only make eight pies at a time. Baglivo: We can't even get another oven because we're low on electricity. We try not to think about the line too much. We're saying the quality of the pizza's got to be good. Somebody's going to wait 30 minutes, 40 minutes at most. Then we've got to make sure that they're getting an acceptable piece of pizza. On keeping waiting customers happy Baglivo: We have a great staff, a very charismatic staff. We hand out menus, we go down the line, we answer questions, we interact with the customers. We have the stationary [point-of-sale] system and then we have two handheld POS systems, so when we have a moment and we're stacked up on some pies, we'll have two or three people taking orders at a time. But just because you take the order fast, doesn't mean it gets made faster. We're doing our best to make sure people aren't complaining about the line because that's a big, big issue for some people. Nobody ever complained when Juliana's had a line, or Grimaldi's had a line. They only complain about us because we're young. On expanding Laveglia: The space next to the first pizzeria became available and our space was very tight, and the landlord [said,] 'If you want to take it, I'll give you a better deal.' We knocked down the wall and we were able to do more pizza. We changed some equipment; we introduced gelato to the shop. On building a following Baglivo: We're just being consistent in reinvesting in the products and getting better and better. When the pandemic hit, we were able to be consistently available for people in the neighborhood. When we closed for renovations, people really missed us. When we reopened right around spring, everybody was really excited to come back and see the new space and how much bigger we'd gotten. We've really succeeded as far as keeping the quality at such a high demand. Plain and burrata slices from L'Industrie. Luke Fortney/Eater NY On their seasonal patio Laveglia: When we expanded in 2021, we had more space, but it wasn't enough for all the customers. After COVID, we had to remove the patio structure. Now the patio is open from April to October. It's good that we have extra space, but it didn't really change the business. Baglivo: It keeps the customers from loitering in front of the [neighborhood] residents' apartments. When they don't have a place to be, it's a free-for-all and that creates more waste and more garbage. We're able to contain it now to the front of the shop and be mindful and diligent. We try our best. On their equipment Baglivo: When we first started working, we had very janky equipment. I remember on a Friday night, a stone broke and we chipped a piece of brick from the building to wedge the stone in there so we could get through the night. [When we expanded,] we reinvested in the shop and we [wound] up getting better ovens. We were doing our diligence looking for the best equipment and figuring out how to work with it. On customers placing orders with the wrong location Laveglia: In the beginning, it was a drama. It happened probably once a week. We had to change the website. When you go to the website now, before you place the order, the website asks you four or five times if you are in the right location. It doesn't happen anymore.
CNN
03-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
New York may have America's top pizza, but LA is at its heels, Italian judges say
The best pizza in the United States comes from a wood-fired oven on New York's Lower East Side, an Italian pizza-ranking guide has announced. For the second year running, the Naples-based 50 Top Pizza judged Una Pizza Napoletana the winner in its annual assessment of American bakers. The ranking focuses strictly on Neapolitan-style pizza — the thin, round, fastidiously prepared variety from the city that considers itself the cradle of pizza — but to aficionados, it's the only type that matters. In a one-two punch, the Big Apple also claimed the top individual pizza slice, with the honors going to L'industrie Pizzeria, run by Massimo Laveglia and Nick Baglivo. Last year, Una Pizza Napoletana was also rated No. 1 in the whole world. The global rankings are due to be released later this year. Una Pizza Napoletana is owned by Anthony Mangieri. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mangieri opened his first pizzeria on the Jersey Shore in 1996. Food and Wine magazine has called Mangieri 'one of the country's most skilled practitioners of the Neapolitan style' of pizza, and New York magazine called him a 'one-man Opus Dei' for authentic pizza. The organization behind the ranking, 50 Top Pizza, cited the rich flavor of his pizzas and the his straightforward approach to making them, with only a few dishes on offer and a single location. Mangieri said that perfecting his technique has been his goal since he first started making pizzas at age 15. While his focus remains the same, he said the world of pizza has changed dramatically in the nearly 30 years since he established his first restaurant. 'When we opened, no one was making the style of pizza that we make,' he told CNN Travel. Now, he says, you can find good pizza all over the world, and American diners have come to appreciate fine Neapolitan pizza. He attributes his success to a strong work ethic that limits distractions. 'It is not a concept restaurant — it is not one of 20 things that I'm doing,' Mangieri said of the restaurant on Orchard Street in New York. 'It's a life's work.' Restaurants in Los Angeles and San Francisco snagged the next two spots on the list of top pizzerias in the US, which also included nine other New York pizzerias. Pizzeria Sei, the No. 2 pizzeria in the US, is run by William Joo, whom the organization deemed 'very talented.' And American pizza 'legend' Tony Gemignani came in third with his Tony's Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. Other cities known for their pizza also made appearances on the list, including New Haven where the restaurant Zeneli was singled out. California fared particularly well, with honors also going to pizzerias in San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Berkeley. But the gospel of Neapolitan pizza has traveled widely, and the ranking also included restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The ranking was announced at the West Edge in New York's Chelsea Market on Tuesday. Have a hankering for more pizza news? The organization will announce the best pizzerias in Italy on July 15 and the world's best pizzerias in September. The top 10 pizzerias in the US according to 50 Top Pizza: 1 Una Pizza Napoletana - (New York) 2 Pizzeria Sei – (Los Angeles) 3 Tony's Pizza Napoletana – (San Francisco) 4 Jay's – (Kenmore, New York) 5 Ribalta – (New York) 6 Robert's – (Chicago) 7 Don Antonio – (New York) 8 Ken's Artisan Pizza – (Portland, Oregon) 9 Truly Pizza – (Dana Point, California) 10 La Leggenda – (Miami)
Time Out
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Six NYC pizzerias were just named among the best pizza in the world
From Neapolitan-style rounds to classic dollar slices, New Yorkers take pizza very seriously. And, thankfully, so do the folks over at the Best Pizza Awards, a Europe-based awards body founded in 2015 by a Polish neuroscientist and an Italian gastronomist, which celebrates the "sacred" art of pizza-making and recognizes the world's top pizza chefs. Back for the third year, the 2025 awards ceremony took place yesterday, June 25 in Milan, Italy, with a global voting panel of 512 experts from 60 countries to "ensure transparency and eliminate commercial influence." And proving that said panel has exceptionally good taste, those 'za experts highlighted six New York pizza joints as some of the best in the world. Though the top three was, unsurprisingly, dominated by Italian pizzaiolos—Francesco Martucci of I Masanielli, Franco Pepe of Pepe in Grani and Gabriele Bonci of Pizzarium in Rome—this year's tasty selection also spotlighted NYC chefs like Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza Napoletana (who previously appeared in the 2023 and 2024 installments, but hit a high of No. 17 this year), Mark Iacono of Lucali (No. 25), Wylie Dufresne of Stretch Pizza (No. 27), Massimo Laveglia of L'Industrie Pizza (No. 34), Giorgia Caporuscio of Don Antonio (No. 52) and Frank Tuttolomondo of Mama's TOO! (No. 95). L'Industrie's Massimo Laveglia was also singled out for a special award, for those who have excelled in specific areas of the craft: "The Best Street Pizza" in the world. Other specialty winners include Isabella De Cham for "The Best Fried Pizza," Ciccio Vitiello for "The Best Science Pizza" and Pier Daniele Seu for "The Best Pastry Pizza," all hailing from Italy. "This year's The Best Pizza Awards has captured the true spirit of pizza: timeless, yet constantly evolving; deeply rooted in tradition, yet always open to new ideas and innovations. Milan provided the perfect backdrop for this global celebration, a city that, like pizza itself, blends history and modernity at every turn," said Cristian Gadau, CEO of The Best Pizza Awards and The Best Chef Awards. "To witness the passion, dedication, and artistry of so many talented pizzaiolos gathered together has been profoundly inspiring. I am immensely proud of what our community continues to achieve and how these awards give a platform to those shaping the future of pizza worldwide." You can check out the full list of .
