“Nothing ah-beetz New Haven apizza!” Mayor Justin Elicker led the chants of 100 assembled New Haven pizza-makers and boosters on the steps of the U.S. Capitol as the delegation that had traveled to Washington, D.C. for the day reached its destination — to witness U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro enter a statement into the Congressional record declaring New Haven the “Pizza Capital of the United States.”
On the Capitol’s steps, DeLauro read from the declaration she had entered into the Congressional record Wednesday. She spoke about her family’s connection to New Haven pizza: “Frank and Filomena Pepe were at my parents’ wedding,” she said, and “my mom and Sal Consiglio played baseball together on Wooster Street.”
She reiterated the importance of the declaration as the rest of Connecticut’s congressional delegation joined her on the steps. “There are some naysayers from Chicago,” DeLauro said. “Really? No contest. Connecticut has the most pizzerias of any state per capita.”
Meanwhile, the other joints staked their claims to authenticity.
Bill Pustari of Modern Apizza said, “I’m the last OG. The one who hasn’t gone corporate.” For him, the restaurant game is about “effort in, effort out.” If it had just been about money, Pustari said, “[he] would’ve gone to Wall Street.”
Kadir Çatalbaşoğlu, a Turkish immigrant and the owner of Pizza at the Brick Oven, said, “My son grew up in New Haven, at the Brick Oven. We’re the real immigrant story. Pepe’s and Sally’s, they just sell the name.”
Gazmir Zeneli, an Albanian immigrant who came to New Haven after 22 years in Italy, took pride in his Wooster Square location, which opened in 2019: “They thought we’d be gone in a few months. We’re still going.”
Several other members of Congress were reached by the pizza delegation. DeLauro’s staff coordinated a Pepe’s delivery to House Minority Leader and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as well as to the remainder of Connecticut’s representatives.
When asked if she had ever tried New Haven-style pizza, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia only responded, “I like pizza.”
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, who wore a rifle pin on his tie, said he had never tried New Haven pizza, though he had visited the city to visit the headquarters of O.F. Mossberg & Sons, a firearms manufacturer headquartered in North Haven.
The pizza delegation has not received any funding from the city, Mayor Justin Elicker confirmed. Colin Caplan of Taste of New Haven, who organized the delegation, told the Independent that community members and private sponsors raised over $40,000 in in-kind or cash donations to make the trip possible.
New Haven’s A1 Toyota dealership alone gave $15,000 to ensure that the group of veterans from VFW could make the trip. Food, care, and veterans have a long, interlinked history in New Haven, according to Caplan: “The Culinary Institute of America was started in New Haven in 1946 by two women to train returning veterans,” he said.
After a brief stop for water, the delegation took the bus to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the last stop of the afternoon.
This story was first published May 22, 2024 by the New Haven Independent.