It’s a slice of history!
City officials gathered at the corner of East 15th Street and Avenue J on Saturday to pay tribute to the late Domenico “Dom” DeMarco, the legendary pizzaiolo behind Di Fara Pizza, with a new commemorative street sign.
DeMarco, the beloved patriarch of Di Fara, founded the Midwood pizzeria and crafted its legendary pies for more than 50 years. He died in 2022 at the age of 85.
“Dom De Marco was a legend,” Mayor Eric Adams said after DeMarco’s death. “He brought a little slice of Caserta from Italy to New York City.”
DeMarco emigrated from Italy in 1959 and eventually opened what would become a Brooklyn institution in a modest storefront on Avenue J. The name “Di Fara” is a blend of his own name and that of a former business partner, whom DeMarco bought out in 1978.
Open since 1965, Di Fara remains a destination for locals and tourists alike and has even expanded to a second location on Manhattan’s South Street. Over time, the pizzeria became renowned throughout the city, and DeMarco’s pie would eventually become generally understood as one of the best, if not the best, pizzas in the entire city.
Today, its quaint establishment on Avenue J continues to draw crowds out the door and down the block. It is also celebrating 60 years in business.
“Yesterday we named the corner of East 15th Street and Avenue J after legendary pizzaiolo Dom DeMarco,” Council Member Justin Brannan posted on social media Sunday. “For decades, food tourists have made pilgrimage to this nondescript corner in Midwood for a chance to eat at Dom’s pizza cathedral. It was a great day.”
DeMarco’s passing left a void in New York City’s — and especially Brooklyn’s — culinary scene, but his family and friends take comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on through the newly named “Domenico ‘Dom’ DeMarco Way.”
At the second annual One Bite Pizza Festival on Sept. 14, shop manager John Sullivan and DeMarco’s daughter, Maggie, said they were proud to keep the pizzaiolo’s legacy alive — both in their classic, handcrafted pies and in the corner’s new moniker.
“Only in Brooklyn,” added Brannan.
