During the opening credits of the 1977 blockbuster film, Saturday Night Fever, John Travolta struts down the streets of Bensonhurst and makes a stop at Lenny’s Pizza. There he grabs a double-decker slice and continues on his way. The famous Brooklyn pizza place has been a staple of the neighborhood for 70 years, but this past weekend Lenny’s served its last pie. After more than 40 years of running the business, 77-year-old owner Frank Giordano decided to retire and close shop.
Photo by Margo Donohue
Giordano’s daughter Josephine, who worked as the manager of the eatery, announced the closure in a Facebook post on Friday, February 17th, stating that they were thankful to all of their customers from throughout the years and were looking forward to spending more time with their families. The post garnered over 700 comments from customers offering well wishes and lamenting the loss of the 86th Street spot. One commenter mentioned that they met their wife in front of Lenny’s while others told stories of eating at Lenny’s as kids and returning as adults.
Though Lenny’s Pizza was a beloved local establishment, Saturday Night Fever turned it into a famous tourist destination. In 2018, John Travolta returned to Lenny’s to attend a special ceremony where a slice was named in his honor. A picture of Travolta biting into his double-decker is the header image on Lenny’s Facebook page.
Hundreds of people came out over the weekend to grab one last slice before the shop closed at 10 pm on Sunday night. Lines of hungry customers wrapped around the block. Find out what other Brooklyn locations have been made famous on film!
Nicole Saraniero is the Insider-in-Chief at Untapped New York, leading our Untapped New York Insiders membership program. Nicole graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Televis
