NYC Loses Iconic Pizzeria Space With Shuttering of Roio's

Famous Roio's pizzeria on the corner of Sixth Avenue and 11th Street is closing this week, probably for good. Although the slice shop is not popular with the pizza snobs of this city, it has a certain historical significance because it was opened by Mario DiRienzo, the restaurateur that also operated Famous Ray's Pizza in that very space for many years. DiRienzo and his brother opened the shop in the early '70s and closed it about a decade later, then they rented it out to a series of other pizza operations, the last of which closed in 2011.

Then, in early 2012, Mario decided to open another pizzeria in that iconic corner space, with a new name to avoid any potential lawsuits from the other Ray's restaurants. DiRienzo died in late 2012, just a few months after the launch of Famous Roio's, and now Jeremiah Moss reports that the building has been sold. It sounds like Roio's might close after service tonight, so now's the time to go and grab a farewell slice. For more on the history of the Famous Ray's space, check out Jeremiah's post about the reopening from 2012.
· Goodbye Famous Roio's [JVNY]
· Famous Ray's on Sixth Ave Reopens as Famous Roio's [~ENY~]