Di Fara Pizza by Nick Sherman (marked with CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Domenico ‘Dom’ De Marco, founder of legendary Di Fara Pizza, has died
A Brooklyn icon and master pizzaiolo who slung some of the best pies in the city has passed away at 85
DeMarco snips the basil (by ian.crowther, marked with CC BY-NC 2.0)
Domenico “Dom” DeMarco, the owner of beloved Midwood institution Di Fara Pizza since its opening in 1965, has died.
His daughter Maggie DeMarco-Mieles wrote in a Facebook post that it’s with a “broken heart” that she was announcing Dom had passed away Thursday. He was 85 years old. “He was the hardest working man I know and he was a leader and will remain a leader through his legacy,” she wrote.
De Marco emigrated from Italy in 1959 and later opened what has become a Brooklyn staple in an unassuming storefront on Avenue J in Midwood. The name Di Fara is a portmanteau of his name and a former business partner who DeMarco bought out in 1978.
A frequent fixture behind the counter, DeMarco could be seen slowly and deliberately stretching the dough of every pie before it went into the oven—doused in San Marzano tomatoes, three kinds of cheese, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with basil he would snip with scissors from the plant on his windowsill. Di Fara also has a location in Willimasburg and in Las Vegas, all family owned and operated.
But the Midwood spot slings one of the most celebrated and awarded pies in the city. A visitor can expect long lines for a $5 slice that has influenced other giants, including Lucali in Carroll Gardens. Mark Iacono of Lucali has called DeMarco the “Joe DiMaggio of pizza.”
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It hasn’t always been a smooth ride, though. In 2011, repeated health violations temporarily shut Di Fara down. In 2019, New York state seized the Midwood location and alleging that Di Fara owed $167,500 in unpaid taxes. The temporary closure sparked panic within the city, with even former Mayor Bill de Blasio, tweeting that he was “ready to do anything” to get the pizzeria back open. It did two days later. And the lines never stopped forming.
Tributes are pouring in on Margie’s post. “One of the greatest men I ever got to know,” one person said. “He was an absolute legend and he must have been so proud at how hard you’ve worked to cement his legacy, which will go on and on,” another said.
