Something old, something new. <\/p>\n
Lucky Charlie is one of Brooklyn\u2019s buzziest recent pizzeria openings \u2014\u00a0with an ancient secret to its sudden success.<\/p>\n
Abandoned, boarded up behind drywall in the basement for years and only recently rediscovered, the Bushwick restaurant\u2019s massive coal oven dates all the way back to 1890 \u2014\u00a0even before near-ancient pizzerias like Lombardi\u2019s, John\u2019s of Bleecker and Grimaldi\u2019s made their debuts.<\/p>\n
Nino Coniglio, owner of Lucky Charlie\u2019s pizzeria in Bushwick, Brooklyn, pulls a pizza out of the restaurant\u2019s ancient coal-fired oven.
\n Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n
Today, it\u2019s firing up some of NYC\u2019s best pies \u2014\u00a0and the neighborhood can\u2019t get enough.<\/p>\n
The sprawling, 18-foot by 15-foot space of sizzling real estate boasts 63 heat zones and can churn out the zestiest \u2018za in just five minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[That\u2019s] something you couldn\u2019t do with any other oven,\u201d Nino Coniglio, a co-owner of Lucky Charlie, told The Post. \u201cIt just gives [the pizza] this kind of char \u2014 kind of like all the best of everything put together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dating back to the 19th century, when the building was a busy bakery for the immigrant neighborhood, the rare gem was essentially lost to history \u2014 that is, until the building\u2019s landlord, Charlie Verde, made the surprising discovery in 2002 while having some work done on the property.<\/p>\n
Once Verde found his hidden treasure, plans of selling the building went out the window.<\/p>\n
The restaurant\u2019s oven is said to predate well-known NYC greats like Lombardi\u2019s and John\u2019s of Bleecker. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n
Even though his expertise was in construction, not cooking, he knew he had to save the aging underground artifact and get it back into use \u2014\u00a0even as local laws surrounding the use of the increasingly rare heat sources<\/a> have become notoriously tough.<\/p>\n Primarily used back in their heyday because burning coal was cheaper than wood, the outdated ovens went into decline nearly 100 years ago. First, gas became the norm in the 1930s \u2014\u00a0then came the stainless steel oven \u2014\u00a0and the rest was modern history.<\/p>\n According to pizza expert Scott Wiener<\/a>, at that point coal ovens could no longer compete \u2014\u00a0and the city went nearly 30 years, from the late 1950s all the way until 1990, without a new coal-fired pizzeria.<\/p>\n According to Coniglio and building owner Charlie Verde, the oven was built in the 19th century and served as the engine behind a bakery serving the immigrant neighborhood. Stefano Giovannini<\/p>\n \u201cMost business owners don\u2019t want to deal with the confusing regulations of the Department of Buildings and the fire commissioner,\u201d according to Wiener, writing for Pizza Today<\/a>. \u201cThey can make much more money by ripping out the old structures and enhancing their buildings\u2019 living spaces.\u201d <\/p>\n Once a coal-fired pizzeria shut up shop, he said, the oven\u2019s fate was typically sealed. <\/p>\n Not this time.<\/p>\n \u201cBringing back a little bit of that flavor is a cool thing,\u201d said Coniglio, who previously apprenticed with the legendary, late Dom DeMarco of NYC\u2019s award-winning Di Fara Pizza. <\/p>\n And he\u2019s bringing it back after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a controversial<\/a> climate-change law targeting coal, oil and gas producers, and NYC approved a green edict that orders businesses like Coniglio\u2019s to reduce coal emissions by 75%<\/a>.<\/p>\n