Brooklyn mainstay Grimaldi’s faces eviction

Grimaldi’s at 19 Old Fulton Street

Grimaldi’s, the famed pizzeria beneath the Brooklyn Bridge with the coal-fired oven and the perpetual line out the door, has been served eviction papers after falling behind on rent and city taxes, the Wall Street Journal reported. Allegedly owed $44,000 in back rent, landlord Dorothy Waxman of Parkland, Fla. plans to ask a Brooklyn judge Friday to oust tenant Frank Ciolli, owner of the pizza shop since he bought it from founder Patsy Grimaldi in 1998, from the 1,100-square-foot storefront on Old Fulton Street. Ciolli said he has paid the rent on time “for the most part,” and his attorney said he paid off several months worth of back rent as part of a June agreement and has set aside money for a new security deposit. But even if Ciolli shows up at court Friday with all the money he owes, he may have missed his chance. “Time is of the essence. We don’t have to take money late,” said Darryl Vernon, an attorney for Waxman. Plus, Ciolli, who has plans to Open Another Pizzeria On Sixth Avenue And 20th Street in Manhattan, has lost his right to renew his lease, which is up next fall. [WSJ]

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