The Incredible Story Of Ray's Pizza And The Thousand Knockoffs


pizza collage

It's a question almost as old as New York City pizza itself. "Which is the real Ray's Pizza?"

There have been many claims to the Ray throne over the years, and the path to finding out the truth -- whether you're a New Yorker, a visitor to the city, or even one of the owners of a "Ray's Pizza" -- is rife with half-truths, rumors, legal battles and even some jail time.

We worked out the tangled history, up to the sad irony, reported this week by the NYT, that the original Ray's Pizza is closing.

The very first store to put the name Ray's Pizza on their sign was opened in 1959 on Prince Street in Manhattan

27 Prince Street, to be exact. From a historical standpoint, this is the "original" Ray's Pizza -- it's in the 1960 phone book and everything.

Ralph Cuomo, then a 22-year old Sicilian immigrant with a little money and his mother's pizza recipe, opened the shop and put his nickname on it. This venerated location is still known as simply "Ray's Pizza."

Ralph Cuomo opened a second location, but sold it in 1964 to Rosolino Mangano, also known as "Ray"

"Everybody knows me as Ray. I can't go no place -- Ray, Ray, Ray... I was the one who made Ray famous," said Mangano in a 1991 interview, in the days of great legal contention.

This first Mangano-owned Ray's, at 1073 First Avenue (which no longer exists), took the name "Famous Original Ray's Pizza" and would eventually expand it to upwards of 25 locations (about a dozen of which last to this day).

Mangano can be credited with expanding the Ray brand, from the locations to the logo

Mangano created the Famous Original Ray's logo, the name inside the little crown. He also added a few innovations to the pizzeria industry, such as the glass display case for pies and slices, that would help business boom and allow Mangano to open mulitple locations.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/CHD-5wJBHKA/original-rays-pizza-story-2011-9

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