Rumors Confirmed: Rosa's Pizza To Open Bayside Shop, Owner Says

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — After months of speculation, a Queens-based pizza chain confirmed its plan to open a Bayside outpost, bringing a neighborhood pizza feud to an end.

Charlie Troia, who co-owns Rosa's Pizza with his brother, told Patch Tuesday that the pizzeria is opening an outpost at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in "several months."

"Everything is proceeding very well, it's going to be a big store," he said, noting that the pizzeria will move into two adjacent, now-empty storefronts at the mall — one of which used to be Jack's Pizza and Pasta, a longtime tenant that shuttered at the beginning of this year amid a rental dispute with shopping center owner Cord Meyer Development Company.

Cord Meyer ended Jack's lease in January, claiming that the pizzeria failed to meet "financial obligations," but a representative from Jack's called that an "excuse," telling Patch that the developer had long-wanted to bring another pizzeria to the center: Rosa's Pizza.

"Matt Whalen always had a pizzeria that he wanted to bring in called Rosa's Pizzeria from Maspeth," Lara Sapienza — whose parents founded Jack's in the 1970s — told Patch in December, pointing at Cord Meyer's CEO, who she said was a partner in Rosa's business (a claim that a spokesperson for the developer denied to Patch).

Reached for comment, Cord Meyer, which repeatedly refused to comment on plans to bring Rosa's to the mall last year, wrote the following statement to Patch:

"We look forward to welcoming Rosa’s Pizza to the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. At the conclusion of Jack’s lease in September of 2020, we began searching for a new pizzeria. At the time, Jack’s could not extend their expiring agreement, but we agreed to a monthly amount they requested through 2021 and waived arrears because of their long tenancy. We anticipate that Rosa’s will open later this spring, occupying a larger, improved space and offering an expanded menu to accommodate our neighbors and shoppers."

News of Rosa's opening in Bay Terrace, which was posted on a public neighborhood Facebook group, was met with mixed reactions from locals.

"Cant wait! Hopefully it's as delicious as the Maspeth location," wrote one neighbor. "Wow how exciting," another added.

Others, though, were disappointed, having loved eating at Jack's which was at the shopping center for 50 years.

"Jack's was awesome," wrote one. "Too bad you gouged the rent and chased them out."

Related Coverage:

• 'Rosa Pizza' Announces Shop In Bay Terrace Amid Pizzeria Dispute
• Jack's Pizza In Bayside To Close Amid Dispute With Developer