Dueling Bellucci's: New Astoria Pizzeria Set To Open After Split

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Months after leaving his eponymous Astoria pizza shop, Andrew Bellucci is officially back in the game — and Astorians may feel like they're seeing double.

The acclaimed chef with a colorful past will open the doors Saturday to his new shop, Bellucci's Pizzeria, at 37-08 30th Ave. — eight blocks away from Bellucci Pizza, which he helped open in early 2021 until a falling out with his owner led him to quit the venture in October.

At the new shop, Bellucci promises a new dough formula, a different oven and some added flavor options — but the same fanatical commitment to the perfect slice.

"It’s the reputation that matters to me," Bellucci told Patch. "I live and die with every pie."

By now, the chef's story is well-known in the neighborhood. Bellucci rose to fame in the 1990s as the force behind the acclaimed SoHo pizza joint Lombardi's — but was jailed for fraud in 1996, derailing his career.

When he and partner Leo Dakmak opened a comeback shop on 30th Avenue last year, it became an immediate neighborhood favorite for its high-quality crusts and unique topping combinations. (Although a promotional Facebook post involving a prop gun briefly landed Bellucci in hot water.)

Then, in October, came Bellucci's unexpected departure from the shop, which he attributed at the time to "different visions for the future" between himself and Dakmak.

Bellucci elaborated on those differences to Patch on Tuesday, saying they stemmed largely from understaffing issues at the old shop. A proposal by Dakmak to open a second Bellucci's location in Manhattan while the Astoria stop was still struggling to keep up with demand only exacerbated tensions, Bellucci said.

Once the new shop is open, Bellucci is confident that customers "will be able to understand my vision" and differentiate it from the other Bellucci's, he said. Still, he is dismayed that the old shop continues to bear his name despite his lack of involvement.

"He now is using my name and I have zero affiliation with it. I have zero say in quality control," Bellucci said. "It’s a bit of a misinformation thing."

Reached by email, Dakmak strongly disputed Bellucci's account, saying Bellucci was never a partner in the business, had no involvement in a possible expansion and was "just behind the oven like the rest of the guys."

"As for the name, Andrew had begged me to use his last name for the pizzeria, and so I did him that favor," Dakmak wrote. He attached a contract showing that Bellucci had signed away the rights to his name, which Dakmak has since trademarked.

"So I'm not even entirely sure he's even allowed to open up a pizzeria with the same name as mine," Dakmak said.

"It begins and ends with the crust"

Bellucci's new shop, occupying the former sLICe pizzeria space near 37th Street, will open at 1 p.m. Saturday to sell slices from five signature pies: a classic plain slice, a margherita, a "vodka-roni" flavor, a white pie, and a vegan pie.

He hopes to reopen again the following Saturday for another afternoon of slice sales, followed by a full-scale opening tentatively set for April 2. (Bellucci's partner in the new business is a different neighborhood restaurateur who declined to be named publicly.)

Bellucci raved about the quality of his ingredients, from the fresh mozzarella in his margherita to the hint of wasabi in the white pie to the plant-based Violife mozzarella he uses for the vegan pizza.

Most important, though, is the crust, which he said will be even lighter than the dough at the old Bellucci's thanks to his new formula.

"It begins and ends with the crust," he said. "I always eat a slice of pizza backwards — that’s really all that I’m interested in."

Once the shop is in full swing, Bellucci will debut more ambitious offerings like a clam pie, featuring two dozen hand-shucked topneck clams and selling for $50.

At 1,300 square feet, the new store is much larger than the old Bellucci's, with a 20-seat interior and a 50-seat backyard. Once he starts dine-in service, Bellucci aims for something more formal than your typical slice joint, with waitstaff and classic Italian dishes like spaghetti and meatballs and vodka rigatoni.

While he's excited about those additions, Bellucci maintains that he is proudest of his basic "New York City slice," upon which the whole business is based.

"That’s the measure," he said. "You measure that up against every other pizzeria on the block, in Queens, in the five boroughs."

Kayla Levy contributed reporting.

Related coverage:

• Bellucci Is Back: Infamous Pizza Chef Opens Another Astoria Spot
• Chef Leaving Bellucci's Pizza Over Business Dispute, He Says
• Gun Joke Prompts Another Scandal For Famed Astoria Pizza Chef