It hasn't been a great time for the DeLorenzo family of late...Some illness in the family among some of the older generation...Last week, we had two of my uncles pass away, including my Uncle Chick...The Trenton Times ran a great story on the front page last Saturday about my Uncle Chick, which I am excerpting below..."Chick DeLorenzo, purist for tomato pies, dies...
Alexander "Chick" DeLorenzo, founder of the famous DeLorenzo's Tomato Pies pizzeria located on Hudson Street in Trenton, died yesterday at his home in Borden town City. He was 85...A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, he founded his eatery in Chambersburg in 1947, about the same time two of his brothers -- Pasquale and Americo "Ricky" DeLorenzo -- founded their own tomato pie restaurant, also called DeLorenzo's, on nearby Hamilton Avenue...Pasquale DeLorenzo died in January 2006 at the age of 79...Chick DeLorenzo and his wife, Sophie, ran their small but popular restaurant on Hudson Street for nearly 50 years before retiring in 1995 and turning over the business to his daughter and son-in-law, Eileen and Gary Amico of Hamilton, and grandson, Sam Amico...Sophie DeLorenzo died in 2004 at age 83..."A pizza could be any pie. But tomato pie is the real name for pizza. It's whole tomatoes, as op posed to sauce, and the emphasis is on the tomatoes, not the cheese," Chick DeLorenzo once told a Times reporter...When the Hudson Street eatery first opened, Sophie DeLorenzo canned New Jersey tomatoes at home for use on her husband's pies, which back then were baked in a coal-fired brick oven...Later, they began using tomatoes shipped from California...During an interview with The Times in 1996, shortly after he retired, Chick DeLorenzo recalled how he once flew out to California in a panic when he heard that his sole tomato supplier was going out of business. Thankfully, he said, it turned out to be a rumor...Chick DeLorenzo and his wife shared a tomato pie each of the six nights their restaurant was open, according to The Times' archives...In the early days of the business, customers could buy a small pie for 25 cents and a large pie for 50 cents. The pizza was wrapped in newspaper so patrons could carry it home...Over the years, the prices went up and boxes were introduced, but the popularity of DeLorenzo's creation never seemed to dim. The restaurant was featured in a 2005 documentary, "Pie Eyed: The Movie." Chick DeLorenzo loved the opera and Atlantic City, but most of all he loved spending time with his family. He is survived by a large number of relatives..."
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