One of New York's Most Famous Pizza Spots Is Closing After 70 Years

"We want to thank everyone who has given us the opportunity to serve them.”

The Facebook page for Lenny’s Pizza, the Brooklyn pizzeria that's been serving slices since 1953, describes it as “one of the LAST and BEST old pizza parlors in BROOKLYN.” No one would question the “best” part, but it’s no longer one of the borough’s last classic holdouts. After almost 70 years in business, Lenny’s has closed its doors.

“It’s bitter sweet [sic] to inform you guys that we are closing our doors after so many years,” Josephine Giordano, owner Frank Giordano’s daughter, wrote on Facebook. “My dad is finally retiring at 77 years old. We, thankfully, have done very well and felt it was best to close once my dad was ready. It’s time for him and I to enjoy our families. We want to thank everyone who has given us the opportunity to serve them.”

Giordano announced that Lenny’s would be closing for good on Sunday, February 19, at 10 p.m. “PLEASE don’t call the store as we are still taking orders as we are still busy,” she added. “Thanks so much. This is a very emotional time for us. We ask for you to be respectful.”

In an interview with ABC7, Giordano said that “for the most part,” her father was retiring. “New York has changed a bit, and it's time for my family to move on," she told the outlet.

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Lenny’s cemented its legacy as a New York landmark in 1977, when it was featured in the generation-defining film “Saturday Night Fever.” In the flick, John Travolta’s character Tony Manero goes into the shop, ordered a pair of slices, and ate them stacked one on top of the other.

In 2018, hundreds of people waited outside the pizzeria to catch a glimpse of Travolta. The actor made the appearance at Lenny’s as part of “John Travolta Day,” which was celebrated in the borough that year. (When then-New York Senator Marty Golden said that Travolta “helped turn Brooklyn into a cultural touchstone of the late 1970s,” he could’ve added that Travolta did the same for Lenny’s.)

Fittingly, songs from the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack were playing at Lenny's on Saturday, the night before the shop closed for good. "I made all my life in this place," Frank Giordano told CBS New York. "I've been here 40 years, and now I wanna retire."

The Giordanos may want to take a break from pizza for a minute — and Brooklynites may feel the same way, if they can't get a slice from Lenny's.