Ray's Pizza

The first Ray's Pizza at 27 Prince Street on the northern edge of Little Italy, Manhattan

Ray's at 6th Avenue and 11th Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Ray's Pizza, and it's many variations such as "Ray's Original Pizza," "Famous Ray's Pizza," "World-Famous Original Ray's Pizza,", etc, are the names of dozens of pizzerias in the New York City area that are generally completely independent (a few have multiple locations) but that may have similar menus, signs and logos. Been there, done that, got the menu, and cut out of part of it for my scrapbook.

History

The purported oldest of the current Ray's Pizzas was opened by Ralph Cuomo of Little Italy, Manhattan at 27 Prince Street in 1959 near the country's first pizzeria, Lombardi's. He does display articles in the restaurant noting that his is the oldest existing restaurant of that name. However, it is diffcult, if not impossible, to prove he is the Original Ray.

The spur for "a Ray's on every corner" in the 1970s, was Ray's at 6th Avenue and 11th Street owned by two brothers who immigrated from a town named Roio del Sangro in the Abruzzi region of Italy. The marquee now has in big letters "The Famous Ray's Pizza" and in smaller letters "Famous Ray's of Greenwich Village." Mario DiRienzo, the former owner, had this explanation for the name:

It's a small town I come from. Although I am a Mario, in Roio I am also a Ray. The name Ray is a nickname for the family name of Di Rienzo. Every family has a nickname in my town. Someone asks, 'Did you see Mario?' and there are so many Marios in town you have to ask 'Which Mario?', so the answer is Mario Ray. And so my restaurant became The Famous Ray's Pizza. If it were The Famous Mario's, you would have to ask 'Which Mario?'

There was a Ray's avalanche in the '80s. As of 2009 there were at least 46 restaurants by some variant of that name as noted by the telephone directory. Ray's Pizza pizzerias were so numerous that one pizzeria owner opted to name his pizzeria Not Ray's Pizza.

A documentary film exploring the origin of the Ray's phenomenon, "Original Original", was made in the early 2000s and was subsequently turned into a radio piece for NPR station WNYC. This film disputes some claims listed above.