A red (sauce) day: Frank Pepe’s Neapolitan welcomed to Stamford

In May, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro declared on the steps of the US Capitol that “New Haven is the Pizza Capital of the United States.”

It was a controversial statement to be sure, but even if one sets aside the claims made by other cities, the question of who controls the so-called Capital is far from settled. “New Haven Style” pizza, called apizza by locals, is noted for having a charred crust, an emphasis on sauce over cheese, and legions of deeply divided yet devoted fans.

Frank Pepe’s Pizza Napoletana , Sally’s Apizza, and Modern Apizza all vie for control of New Haven and its apizza eaters as documented in the film “Pizza, a Love Story.”

In October 2021 Sally’s Apizza opened in downtown Stamford.

On June 17 Stamford became the latest front line in the conflict with the opening of the new Frank Pepe’s location on High Ridge Road, marking the third time a

Sally’s and Frank Pepe’s have battled for the control of the hearts, minds, and stomachs of residents of a single city.

Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons was on hand to welcome the new location to the “vibrant restaurant scene here in the city,” and expressed gratitude for the more than 50 new jobs it created, while offering assurances that the restaurant’s beer permits would soon clear.

“I want to give a big shout out to all the Pepe’s employees. You’re the heart and soul of this business and we can’t wait to visit and bring our kids to this beautiful location,” Simmons said.  “And to the Pepe’s family, I know there’s two granddaughters, Bernadette and Lisa, who are here, thank you so much for bringing the wonderful tradition of this family business to Stamford.”

“As we prepare to celebrate our one hundredth anniversary in 2025 we could not be more proud to carry on Grandma and Grandpa’s legacy with all the pizza lovers in this amazing city,” replied Lisa Cusano, granddaughter of Frank Pepe and current owner of the company that still bears his name.

Governor Ned Lamont shared an anecdote about Mick Jagger mistakenly greeting New York while playing in New Jersey one night, only to cause a bigger uproar the next night by saying “Hello New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut with the great pizza!”

“That’s why we’re here today,” Lamont said. “Thank God we’re taking Frank Pepe’s all over the state and hopefully all over the country. It’s the best in the world and I’m really proud that you’re making Stamford one more home.”

According to Kevin Gagliard, director of operations for the Frank Pepe family the decision to come to Stamford, the eighth location in Connecticut and the seventeenth overall, was driven by popular demand.

“We listened to our guests that visit our other stores and we were aware that a lot of guests actually drove from Stamford to some of our current locations, so we knew that Stamford had quite a bit of Pepe loyal people already in the community, and we’ve always wanted to be part of this community because it’s so vibrant,” Gagliard said.

In order to maintain consistency across those disparate locations Gagliard emphasized that Frank Pepe’s locations are owned by the family, and that there were no plans to ever move to a franchise model or sell outside the family.

That attitude extends not only to recipes such as the award winning “white clam pie.” To replicate the conditions of the famous first location opened in 1925, 99 years ago, Gagliard explained that each new location contains a painstakingly accurate recreation of the original wood fired brick oven.

“We have one gentleman that has built all those ovens as we’ve expanded and he’s now training his son. We like to keep things in the family,” Gagliard said. After completion, he said that the company’s director of quality oversees a three month long seasoning process, which dictates the opening date rather than the other way around.

He noted that the oven is capable of producing 600 pizzas a day with trained staff, but that the number was considered a limit.

“We don’t’ like to cook more pizzas than the oven can handle because the heat and char is part of our legacy.”

Darryl Taylor, who works at the Lloyd Hotel in Stamford, ordered the first of that finite number.

“This is one of my favorite pizza places,” Taylor said, “and they’re finally in Stamford so I wanted to show support.”

He noted that he used to be among those who visited locations in Danbury and Yonkers despite hailing from a pizza-rich city like Stamford.

Why?

“It’s the best Pizza in Connecticut,” Taylor said.