NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) Gary Bimonte, a third-generation co-owner of a landmark Connecticut pizzeria that won worldwide acclaim, especially for its white clam pizza, has died.
New Haven s Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana posted a statement on its website Thursday announcing Bimonte s death, and the restaurant closed for the day. It did not cite a cause of death, list his age or say when he died.
Bimonte was the youngest grandson of Frank Pepe, whose pizza shop on Wooster Street in New Haven opened in 1925 and became an anchor of the neighborhood, the Providence Journal reported. Gary was the pride and joy of the Pepe s family, and there are no words to express the immense void that his passing has left in our hearts. He truly loved and cherished our family s history, and he was so proud of the legacy that has carried through all these years, the statement said.
This week s edition of The Local Flavor features John Ryan of Brick & Basil, located in Norwich. John s family moved from Illinois to Madison, Connecticut when he was 2 to run a McDonald s franchise. With his father s death, his mother switched gears to running a farm in Franklin. Through his hard work on the farm, restaurant experience out of college, and a chance encounter in Denver, Colorado, John found his calling to open up Brick & Basil in February of 2015.
Blaine: What brought you to Madison, Connecticut, from Illinois?
John: My mom and dad purchased a McDonald s franchise in Middletown, Connecticut. McDonald s has played a big part in my life. My grandfather was one of the first investors of McDonald s. My parents moved to Connecticut to run that business for about 15 years. My dad passed away, unfortunately, from cancer. After that, my mom didn’t want to keep it going. She sold it, and her dream was to retire on a horse farm. That wound up being the next logical step
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This week s edition of The Local Flavor features Julio Cancho of Canggio Restaurant and Bar. Julio was born in Peru and learned how to cook from his family. Looking for new opportunities, he moved with his father to the United States in 2001 and began working in restaurants.
From there, he worked his way up in the restaurant industry, eventually finding his opportunity to open his own restaurant. With a prime space available in Norwich, Julio took his chance and opened up Canggio Restaurant and Bar in 2017.
Blaine: Canggio opened a few years ago. Looking at the cuisine, can you tell me more about the Peruvian cooking you and your father did and what was brought over?
This week s edition of The Local Flavor features Nikolas Zarokostas of Mr. Z s. Nikolas grew up in the restaurant business, going straight from high school to work with his father at The Olde Theater Diner in Rhode Island.
After four years, Nikolas and his father found a space in Plainfield for a new business. Nikolas wanted to focus more on pizza, pasta and salads, all with his own creativity involved. It was here, taking up residence where other businesses had failed, that Nikolas opened up Mr. Z s in 2014.
Blaine: What had you choose Plainfield?
Nikolas: Honestly, we wanted to do something different, doing specialty pizzas and pastas and salads. That’s our main focus, “Fresh is Best” is our motto. Bringing something different was our biggest draw. We always did breakfast and I kinda wanted to sleep in and open up a litter later, which is actually funny because now I get here at 8 to get everything prepared, so it kinda backfired on me.