Ray's Pizza
Ray's Pizza, or variations such as "Ray's Original Pizza," "Famous Ray's Pizza," "World-Famous Original Ray's Pizza,", etc, is the name of dozens of pizza parlors in New York City. These establishments do not form a franchise and are generally completely independent of each other, although many have near identical menus and may even share signs and logos.
History
According to "Pizza Wars: New York vs. Chicago,", a Travel Channel documentary, the first "Ray" opened his establishment in 1929. He was in fact a "Ralph", Ralph Como of Little Italy. "Ray's Pizza" shops eventually spread to almost every street corner in Manhattan, although competition and legal action between each other have since reduced the number to 47 (according to the telephone directory).
Although the definition of "Ray's Pizza" is contentious, "Famous Ray's of Greenwich Village" at 465 6th Avenue, is in fact the restaurant which, in the 1980s made the network news by being the shop from which a group of students in London ordered some pies. They raised money, sent 2 people to New York (they were from New York, actually) and ordered several dozen pies which were reheated and enjoyed. The article is posted at the restaurant and probably available online. Although the name is the same, the restaurant was sold to a new owner in the early 1990s.
Ray's Pizza in popular culture
The ubiquity of "Ray's Pizza" restaurants in New York City, and the similarity of their names, has been spoofed on the following television series:
On The Simpsons, the 1997 episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" depicts a pizzeria displaying a sign reading "Original Famous Ray's — Not Affiliated with Famous Original Ray's."
On Seinfeld, in the 1998 episode "The Maid", Kramer becomes lost in Manhattan and calls Jerry for help, leading to the following exchange:
KRAMER: I miss home, and I don't even know how to get there. JERRY: What's around you? KRAMER: I'm lookin' at Ray's Pizza. You know where that is? JERRY: Is it Famous Ray's? KRAMER: No. It's Original Ray's. JERRY: Famous Original Ray's? KRAMER: It's just Original, Jerry!
See also: Kennedy Fried Chicken, trademark
References
- ["Pizza Wars: New York vs. Chicago,"
Categories: Restaurants | Pizza