Lanza s Sicilian Restaurant Died

 

LANZA'S 

Since  1904

Lanza’s Restaurant & the Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home
168 First Avenue, 43 Second Avenue

Lanza’s restaurant was opened in 1904 by Sicilian-born Michael Lanza, an immigrant who was rumored to have served as chef to the Italian King Vittorio Emmanuel III and remained in operation at this site for over 100 years. The eatery was beloved not just for its food but its decor, which included large painted murals of places like Mount Vesuvius, and stained glass windows on the entryway with ‘Lanza’s’ in it, and a tin ceiling, all of which dates to the earliest days of the restaurant. Like John’s and De Robertis’, Lanza’s was a speakeasy during Prohibition.

The combination of old-world cuisine and decor attracted a loyal following, including more than a few notorious mob figures. One was Carmine “Lilo” Galante, who along with several members of his Bonanno crime family could often be seen soaking up (and adding to) the atmosphere at Lanza’s. So fond was Galante of Lanza’s that after he was assassinated in 1979, his funeral service was held at the Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home just a few blocks away on Second Avenue, which was owned by the same Lanza family. The restaurant’s Maître d’ and co-owner at the time, Bobby Lanza, was the mortician in charge of the funeral service.

By the 21st century, ownership of Lanza’s had left the family, though the restaurant maintained the menu, decor, and atmosphere for which it was known and loved. Sadly in 2016 after 112 of operation Lanza’s closed its doors, replaced by Joe and Pat’s Pizzeria, an Italian eatery founded in 1960 on Staten Island’s Victory Boulevard.

WOODY ALLEN

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERIES

Woody Allen famously used the restaurant to film a scene in his 1993 film, Manhattan Murder Mystery.  Characters played by Diane Keaton and Allen himself had dinner at an “Italian mafia joint” in New Jersey, which was actually Lanza’s.

Inside LANZA'S

"Boy do I miss this place?"

The Lanza name, however, is most notoriously associated with Joseph “Socks” Lanza, cousin to Lanza’s Restaurant owner Michael Lanza, labor rackateer, head of the Genovese crime family, and controller of the Fulton Fish Market during the 40’s and 50’s (from this alone, he received over $20 million in profits).  Although Michael Lanza never reached the crime status of his cousin or was part of organized crime officially, he did a little wheeling and dealing himself.  According to the NY Times, in 1976 he, along with two other men, was arrested for bribery, conspiracy, and gambling.  The men had paid over $18,000 in bribes to police officers for matters involving illegal activity at the restaurant.  No records indicate that the men served time.  Although now under new ownership, stepping into Lanza’s and ordering some chicken parm still feels like stepping into a vintage piece of East Village history.

Michael Lanza

Robert DeNiro in LANZA'S

In a Scene From ANGEL HEART