Totonno was an employee at the Lombardi's pizzeria on Spring Street in New York's Little Italy that was established in 1905 when he began selling tomato pies cooked in a coal oven and wrapped in paper and tied with a string.

[1][3] Pero can be seen in a photograph with Lombardi,[3] whose employ he left in 1924, "shortly after the subway started running out to the hinterlands of Coney Island, and opened his own place there".

[4] James Oseland, editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine, attributes a "quintessential New York City flavor profile" to Totonno's.

[5] Totonno's is one of a handful of pizzerias that use a coal fired brick oven, which imparts its unique flavor to pies baked in it.

[5] In October 2012, Totonno's was among several landmark New York restaurants devastated by Hurricane Sandy.