Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana — Frank Pepe's, or simply Pepe's — opened at 163 Wooster Street in 1925 as the originator of New Haven-style pizza, and its flagship is in front of you. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the United States. Its founder, Frank Pepe, was born April 15, 1893 in Maiori, Italy, immigrated to New Haven in 1909 as a teenager, and worked alongside other Italian immigrants in Wooster Square in local factories such as Sargent & Co., a manufacturer of locks and hardware.
During World War I he returned to Italy to fight for his native country and was honorably discharged from the Italian Army on February 25, 1919. On September 27, 1919 he married Filomena Volpi, also from Maiori, Italy. From the single shop at 163 Wooster Street the business has become a small, family-owned chain with locations in Connecticut (8), Massachusetts (3), Rhode Island (1), New York City (1), Maryland (1), Florida (1), and Virginia (1).
From this single shop at 163 Wooster Street grew a family-owned chain with eight locations in Connecticut alone.