Established 1903 (re-founded 1933) City East Boston Postal/ZIP code 02128 | Street address 111 Chelsea Street State Massachusetts Country United States | |
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Santarpio's Pizza is a well-known restaurant in the neighborhood of East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was originally established in 1903 as a bakery. Frank Santarpio began selling pizza there three decades later. A landmark to locals and a destination for visitors, the eatery is primarily known for its New York-style pizza, which it has served at its Chelsea Street location since 1933. One Boston Globe reporter said of the establishment that "[t]he average New Englander's only knowledge of East Boston is the sign for Santarpio's Pizza that can be seen from the highway on the way to the airport."
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History
Still owned and operated by the Santarpio family, the restaurant was one of the original pizzerias that opened to cater to Italian Americans who had emigrated to East Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods. Besides several varieties of pizza, Santarpio's menu offers only three other items: barbecued lamb, steak tips and sausage.
For a long time, part of the restaurant's charm was the unadorned atmosphere plastered with walls of boxing memorabilia and posters, and waiters who were not particularly helpful. That has moderated to a degree in recent years, and even the baby-food jars that once held crushed red pepper have been replaced by conventional containers.
The restaurant's staff are also memorable for their character, mannerisms, and longevity. The eatery refused to fill an order from the film My Best Friend's Girl when the production crew insisted that the 75-pie order be ready in an hour. Glenn Carlton has baked bread and prepared dough for the pizzas at Santarpio's for 30 years. Lennie Timpone, whose mother was a Santarpio, was born in 1945 and has worked at the Chelsea Street location his entire life.