Pizzeria to Return to Beach 129th Street with 129 Pizza
John Mazzola making pizzas at Pizza Express
By Katie McFadden
A pizzeria is coming back to Beach 129th Street. From the owners of La Sorrentina, 129 Pizza opens its doors on Wednesday, December 4.
From slices to pies, regulars to sicilians, specialty slices and any pizza you can dream of, plus rolls, calzones, garlic knots, rice balls, salads and wraps, 129 Pizza will have it all for dine in, take-out and delivery, once again giving neighborhood kids and families a place to grab a slice and sit down on Beach 129th Street.
When John Mazzola bought Plum Tomatoes in 2019, he transformed it into La Sorrentina, a restaurant that still serves pizza, but has predominantly become an Italian restaurant rather than a casual pizzeria. But Mazzola saw the need to give families a place to enjoy a slice again, so when Dunkin’ Donuts closed a few doors down on Beach 129th Street, he jumped at the opportunity to expand. “We decided to extend the pizzeria because unfortunately at the restaurant, we cannot accommodate people to sit down for a short time at night, so we’re opening a pizzeria to make parents and the kids happy to come in and have a seat and enjoy some pizza,” Mazzola said. “For the last few years, we’ve felt bad to sometimes tell people sorry, you can’t sit.”
Mazzola and his son, Joseph Mazzola, signed the lease on the old Dunkin’ location at 432 Beach 129th Street in July and have spent the last six months transforming the coffee shop into a beautiful spot for families to enjoy pizza. The new location boasts a marble counter, with perfectly crafted wood elements, and plenty of seating. The pizzas will be cooked in Attias ovens, custom made by Simon Attias, an expert in kitchen equipment, who recently got a shoutout by local resident Sid Rosenberg on his radio show on 77WABC. “These ovens cook pizzas perfectly and evenly, you don’t even have to rotate them, and the pizza comes out delicious,” Mazzola said. And people can’t wait to try it. As Mazzola was giving The Rockaway Times a tour, a few potential customers walked in to grab a slice, with Mazzola telling them, “Next week,” and redirecting them to La Sorrentina in the meantime.
La Sorrentina will continue to serve as a restaurant and the menu will stay the same, meaning pizza will still be available, but 129 Pizza will serve as a standalone pizzeria, offering a full pizza menu including slices, regular pies, personal pies and even gluten free and cauliflower crust options. And Mazzola’s son, Joseph, will be running the show. But he’s had plenty of experience.
Pizza runs in the Mazzolas’ blood. John Mazzola, whose mother was from Naples and his father from Sicily, immigrated to the Unites States more than 50 years ago from Palermo, and one of the first things he did was marry his wife, settle on Beach 133rd Street in Belle Harbor and open a pizzeria in the city. About 45 years ago, Mazzola ran Pizza Express, a pizzeria on 6th Ave and 36th Street in Manhattan, a spot that news anchor Ernie Anastos made a regular stop, and Mazzola has the photos to prove it, hanging in La Sorrentina. However, rent increases eventually forced his business to Brooklyn, where Mazzola opened the first La Sorrentina Ristorante in Bay Ridge in the 1970s.
While running his businesses, Mazzola has always made it a family affair, with his children helping around the businesses, including Joseph, who’s been making pizza since he was 13 years old.
While running the restaurant in Bay Ridge, Mazzola moved to Brooklyn for a while, but with sand in his shoes, about 22 years ago, he came back to the neighborhood, with the help of Jimmy Bulloch, who found him his house on Beach 139th Street. “I stopped at the gas station and said, ‘Mr. Bulloch, know any house for sale?’ If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be back here. He found me a house and we give each other business,” Mazzola said. And in 2019, Mazzola brought La Sorrentina to Rockaway, taking over for Plum Tomatoes, and closing his Bay Ridge restaurant in 2020. Now, Mazzola has three businesses on the same block as Bulloch with La Sorrentina, Sneaker Gallery, which he recently turned into World Wide Perfume, selling high-quality perfumes along with sneakers, and soon, 129 Pizza. And Rockaway is where the Mazzola family has grown. John’s three children all live in the neighborhood, and his eight grandkids are growing up here as well, and they, too, are learning how to make pizza. “They grew up with pizza, everyone is making pizza in the Mazzola family,” he said.
129 Pizza, located at 432 Beach 129th Street, opens December 4. It will be open seven days a week, starting at 11 a.m. Closing hours are to be determined, but will go into the night. The pizzeria can be reached at 718-474-3800 or 718-474-4100.
