Brooklynites Weigh In On Failed Health Inspection At Legendary Di Fara Pizza
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A legendary Brooklyn pizza place could reopen on Wednesday after it was shut down by the Health Department for flunking a health inspection.
Di Fara Pizza, located on Avenue J in Midwood, was hit with 67 code violations last week by the city because of food storage temperatures and signs of mice and flies.
1010 WINS' John Montone Gets Reaction In Midwood
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Dom DeMarco Jr. says customers are craving the handmade pies cranked out by his dad for the last 47 years. However, it's been somewhat of a forced vacation for 75-year-old Domenico DeMarco Sr.
When asked by CBS 2's Tony Aiello if he was enjoying the time off, DeMarco Sr. answered "yeah, I think so."
Still, some loyal customers said they will head right back once the doors open again because -- simply put -- the pizza is "perfect."
"It tastes like they use fresh tomatoes, it tastes like the cheese just came straight out of a cow," one woman told 1010 WINS' John Montone.
DeMarco Sr. said most customers only care about the quality of the pie.
"I had the inspector over here one time. The customer was over here, he said 'I see pizza on the floor I eat it,' he said to the inspector," he told Aiello.
Others, however, say the Health Department got it right by closing the place down.
"It's dirty in there, it's dirty. You can see," said one woman.
One man said he stopped going to the pizza joint because, as he claims, he spotted a mouse inside.
"It's just a dirty place," he said. "It's good pizza, but when you got things crawling around, who the hell wants to eat pizza?"
The pizzeria opened in 1964 and hasn't changed a whole lot since then. There is certainly a patina of age on the old pizza dough mixing machine and on the stove, where the homemade pizza sauce simmers for hours and hours every day.
Di Fara was shut down once before, but after it opened, people were again lining up for the $5-a-slice pizza. DeMarco Jr. said the family is working with a consultant to fix the violations and reopen as soon as possible.
Will you head back to Di Fara pizza? Are you a fan? Share your thoughts in the comments section below...
