Comment permalink

Dear Mr. Coney Island...
My aunt Anna owned the pizza place on the boardwalk right next to the bungalow's at 32nd Street. She sold the place sometime in the 90's when she was in her late 90's herself . I wanted to get as much info asIi could or even some old pics of the place. The family moved to NJ and I can't find them... I spent a lot of time there when I was younger.
- Chuck Randazo

Hello Chuck,

Larry and Vinny's was an Icon to anyone who grew up in the West End of Coney Island during the 1950s-1960s. Here are some photos of Larry and Vinny's shortly before Anna retired at the age of 94. She operated the restaurant for 50 years and it was the last of the West End boardwalk establishments. Pictured are Anna and Robert (dough in hands); Andy "(The Bat") Adams striking a pose, Anna with her incredible pizza; The last days of the store in 1994, and again, shortly before the abandoned building burned to the ground in 2005.

Anna died in New Jersey at the age of 101. She is missed.

, , , ,

Comments

The fire was on the morning of Dec. 15, 2005 and left an empty shell which looked like it could fall at anytime.

My family moved into the first building at the CI Projects and Larry and Vinny's was the place to BE! My father actually opened up an 'account' with them so we can have pizza whenever we wanted. A slice was 15 cents and a small coke in a plastic cup was 10 cents. A whole meal for a quarter! I remember the juke box there, F4 was "Friday on my mind" by the Easybeats....Spent a lot of time sitting in that pizza place....the best pizza during the best of times...

Deserved landmark status!!!! Fireworks weren't the same without Larry and Vinny's pizza. Every other pizza is measured by theirs. Go Bat!!!!!!

Tuesday nites, fireworks, a slice and a mountain dew, tunes on the juke box....who had it better? Spent many a night and day sitting in Larry and Vinnies....Ken is right...Landmark status....we all have such great memories from that place and yes, still the best pizza....well not anymore but we still compare 40 years later!!!! Long live Larry and Vinnies and all the great memories!!!!

'Slice an a Ice' 25 cents. Agree with Kenny....all pizzas to my dying day will be measured against Larry & Vinny's. In San Jose, CA there's 'New York Pizza' on Stevens Creek Blvd. with the closest thing to Brooklyn Pizza.

There was something about those little green bottles of Mountain Dew that was perfect with Larry's Pizza. Vinnie was hardly there and when he was, he was one scary guy. Larry was much more personable. He called me Joey Mattress and I have no idea why. You never knew what you would see there. To whit: I was having a slice and I was hanging out in the back when two NYPD came in, ordered slices and sat in the down. One got up, put a dime into the jukebox and played White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane. Made me feel very relaxed that a cop played a song that was so explicit about mind-altering drugs.

My father Eddie ran the pizza place for years, Anna was like a Grandma to me. I spent many summers working in the pizza shop with my father. I have the greatest memories on the boardwalk. My father lived above the store for years.

I remember sitting in the back with Anna for hours watching her make those amazing knishes. Her fingers were so nimble and her art was precision. She never even had to look at her hands. My daughter's father worked there for years, and she would always lovingly yell at him for being "da bum". I have been trying to recreate her knishes for nearly 20 years without success. Hers had this bubbly chewiness, not flakey or bread-like. Oh how I wish I could taste one again. Anna RIP xoxox.
@Chuck Randazo I hope you have found your relatives by now, they were good people.

yes it was a great hangout in them days(mid 50s into the 60s) you never got chased and when it got busy you knew to leave Larry n VInny was the best aes long as you spent that quarter and played the jukebox you were fine they were happy

My uncle is robert. I remember my grandmother would always be sitting outside with her crew and i would be in the sand playing. It was those knishes that got me hooked they were so delicious i miss them. These pictures bring back so many memories of my childhood. Every summer was spent in front of this pizzeria. Its a shame its gone now. R.i.p anna r.i.p uncle robert

Went to see aunt anna every saint Joseph's day,

i worked for Anna repairing her apt upstairs and working on week end at the pizzeria then start to worked with Vinny and his home repair business he gave me the name of Domie in the Pizzeria was a art when it was ball to the wall two of us was making the pizza throw it to larry across the pizzeria then larry make the pizza the best was Anna Blueberry Knishes I lived on 32 street right next to Anna pizzeria in a green one family home next to the boardwalk ramp everyone call me Dom God bless you Anna i love you like a mom Larry buddy today I have a Doctors Phd in Electrical Engineering many days you told me go back to school i did thank you

No question, THE BEST pizza ever and that includes some of the current greats such as Totonno on Neptune and Faria on Ave J. 15 cents a slice and when you folded it the wondeful olive oil would drip all over your shirt. I can still taste the perfect oregano accents and the incredible slightly sweet tomato sauce. Each slice was thin and crusty. ABSOLUTE PERFECTION and will never be duplicated.

Add new comment