Ray's Pizza

Ralph Cuomo opened the first Ray's Pizza, at 27 Prince Street in Little Italy, in 1959, named after his nickname "Raffie".

In the 1960s he briefly owned a second Ray's Pizza,[1][2] but sold it to Rosolino Mangano in 1964.

[1][2][3] In 1973, Mario Di Rienzo named his new pizzeria Ray's Pizza (which is now closed) after, he claimed, the nickname for his family in Italy.

By 1991, dozens of pizzerias in New York City had "Ray's" in their name, as well as those in other American states.

[3] The first Ray's Pizza closed its doors on Sunday, October 30, 2011, following a legal dispute over rent and a lease that followed its owner's death in 2008.

First Ray's Pizza, at 27 Prince Street on the northern edge of Little Italy, Manhattan
Famous Ray's Pizza, at Sixth Avenue and 11th Street in Greenwich Village , Manhattan