[Photograph: Lance Robert's]
After famed Coney Island pizzeria Totonno'sreopened last week, the Daily News filed an article celebrating the pizzeria's triumphant return.
But it turns out that they got one very important thing wrong. In the piece, author Mark Morales says that "the tiny pizza shop spent almost $150,000 to replace the oven, refrigerators, air conditioners, electrical wiring and even cash registers."
The oven, which dates back to the pizzeria's founding, thankfully remains intact. Co-owner Antoinette Balazano says that such a loss would have been a tremendous blow to the pizzeria. "The thing is I never said that we replaced the oven but my God that's the original oven and that's very important," she told me.
Indeed, as we reported back in December, the only fixtures that got replaced were the tiles.
Of the rebuilding, Antoinette says, "I'm so happy with the way the store looks—I feel like it went back to the old world look. I never liked the colors after the fire...We're fortunate, we're okay. I have to pay, I don't know if its $150,000 or if it might be more. It looks beautiful, the customers are the finishing touch."
About the author:Chris Crowley is the author of the Bronx Eats column. Follow him on Twitter, if you'd like. In person, your best bet is the window seat at Neerob, or waiting in line at the Lechonera La Piranha trailer.