Brothers Al and Richard DeSimone are part of a three-generation family that has been dishing out Neapolitan-style thin crust pizza at Jennie’s Pizzeria for decades.

The Italian restaurant, located at 380 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. According to Al DeSimone III, Jennie’s Pizzeria is the longest-running pizza place in Fairfield County and the 17th longest in the country.

The business opened in 1935. Jerry Curcurello was the initial owner and was friends with Alfonso DeSimone, Sr., who is Al III and Richard’s grandfather. Al DeSimone, Sr. and his two sons-in-laws, Peter Corbesato and Nick Pinto, purchased the restaurant from Curcurello, who named the restaurant after his wife in 1945 on Grand Street in Bridgeport.

Prior to buying Jennie’s, Alfonso DeSimone, Sr. and wife Assunta immigrated from Naples, Italy to Bridgeport in 1910. Eight years later, the couple opened up Savoy Bakery in Bridgeport shortly after moved to the U.S.

DeSimone III said he has a business card from his grandfather making pizza in his bakery as early as 1921.

DeSimone’s father, Al Jr., joined the pizzeria after serving in WWII. Al DeSimone III, now 74, said he grew up in the restaurant and was “working” as a 7-year-old at the pizzeria. The current owners joined their fathers as owners in 1978. DeSimone III said “his grandfather was making dough at the pizzeria until the day he died.”

The seating area at Jennie’s Pizzeria in Monroe. The restaurant is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. The business began in Bridgeport in 1935 and moved to Monroe in 1998. (Courtesy of Jennie’s Pizzeria)

DeSimone III said the same work ethic that started with his grandfather continues on.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work and hours,” DeSimone III said. “It’s gratifying to hear when people come in and say they have been coming here for 40, 50 or 60 years. Their parents brought them into the restaurant, and now they are bringing in their children into the restaurant. It’s gratifying.”

The business hasn’t always been in the same location. After its original Grant Street location, the restaurant moved to a different Grand Street location in 1965, and then to Main Street in Bridgeport in 1985 before setting in at their current location in 1998.

Jeannie’s was exclusively a takeout restaurant before a dining room was added in Monroe. The dining room capacity sits about 70. The bar area seats 25, and a party room can accommodate as many as 45.

DeSimone III said he and his brother Richard, 70, work hand in hand as partners. DeSimone III handles the business side, and Richard works with the catering and specials.

“We couldn’t do this without our wives and dedicated staff,” DeSimone III said. “The business will go as long as you want it to go. If you treat your customers the way they are supposed to be treated, the business will run forever.”

The Jennie’s staff make dough, sauce, meatballs and more from scratch every day. Beside pizza, soups and other Italian dishes, such as lasagna, are made fresh daily for dine-in, takeout and for catering.

An archived family photo of the DeSimone family at Jennie’s Pizzeria. (Courtesy of Jennie’s Pizzeria)

DeSimone III said the trademark pie is the Pop’s Hot Oil Pizza. The pizza dates back to when DeSimone Sr. was working out of his bakery in the 1920s.

“My grandfather used to make this pizza at his bakery in a large sheet pan. It was nothing but Italian tomatoes grounded up with grated cheese, spices, fresh garlic, crushed red pepper and hot oil,” DeSimone III said.

Hot oil remains popular at the restaurant and is also used on pastas. Among the other favorites on the menu are the margarita pizza and the sausage pizza, according to DeSimone III.

Jennie’s previously used to use a coal oven but now has a rotating bakery oven that has six shelves to rotate pizzas. The oven can fit as many as 24 pizzas at one time, which comes in handy especially on Fridays when waits for pizza can extend to between 60-75 minutes.

“We have a special burner made for the oven because on a Friday night, the oven doors stay open from 4 to 7:30.” DeSimone III said. “Because we make 90 pies an hour, the doors are kept open. If the oven cools off, you’re out of luck. We had the burner made special so it keeps up with the gas. We lose maybe five degrees, which is nothing.”

DeSimone III said the longevity of the establishment dates back to his grandfather’s work ethic.

“He always stressed quality above anything else. His slogan in his bakery he established in the ‘20s was “Taste proves quality.” That’s what we stuck by. He taught my father and my uncles everything he knew,” DeSimone III said. “He was a baker from Italy. He was a hard-working guy that came from nothing. He was a very prosperous, promising, hardworking guy.”

Jennie’s Pizzeria is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays. On Fridays, hours are 11:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Takeout hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 8 p.m. on Sundays. The business is closed on Mondays.

https://www.courant.com/2025/12/02/three-generation-pizzeria-celebrates-90th-year-in-business/