Astoria, Pizza, Restaurants
May 11, 2018

Update on Macoletta, a New Pizzeria Coming to Astoria

Bring on the brick oven pizza!

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Photo credit: Macoletta

We’ve been keeping an eye on the progress at Macoletta, a new brick oven pizza spot opening up on 24th Ave (in the space that most recently held New Good One Chinese restaurant), and after they unveiled their sign at the location, we got even more curious. We reached out to Astorian Walid Idriss, the principal investor and primary owner of Macoletta, to learn more.

“Macoletta Brick Oven Pizza celebrates the art of authentic Italian pizza making in a fun, elegant, but casual atmosphere where all are welcome,” explains Walid. “We aim to feature simple food made exactly the right way.” To do that, they’ll be using what they consider the best and freshest ingredients, as well as ready-made products from local businesses: local beer from Big Alice Brewing in LIC; coffee from zibetto espresso bar in NYC; and gelato from Gelato & Co on 23rd Avenue. Also, look for Italian craft beer, La Bira di Meni

Their marketing staff put together this video that speaks about the food and space:

They are, naturally, excited about their oven, which is the center of their pizza-making world. More about that aspect of the business:

“Working with our architect, Nick Liberis, we wanted the centerpiece of Macoletta to be our stunning oven: Marana Forni from Verona, Italy. Marana Forni ovens are revolutionary in that they are rotational so they don’t require the pizza to be spun.  The oven goes to 1250 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning 11 standard pizzas can be made at the same time in under 3 minutes! The oven is the centerpiece of the space, so all can watch our pizzaiolo, Zoki Dobranic. The dome for the oven was made by Brooklyn artist, Malcolm Pepin, from Chateau Brooklyn.”

Watch the installation of the oven:

And more pictures of the buildout.

They ran a successful Kickstarter for the business, raising $20,575. No doubt its success has to do with Walid’s talents developed during his career in finance. He also brings his experience during his time working in the food industry, from delis and bagel places, to high end restaurants. He’s a “jack of all trades” in this sector, and has done pretty much every job you can do when it comes to commercial food: food prep and dishwashing, bussing, waiting tables, tending bar, and managing the front of the house. With this in mind, you can expect things to be pretty well-put-together when they open.

And as far as that goes, they don’t have an exact opening date yet (they want everything to be perfect), but they hope to be open within one month. We look forward to checking out Macoletta when they open their doors—welcome to the neighborhood!

Macoletta, 28-15 24th Avenue, Astoria. (718) 77-PIZZA.
macoletta.com | Facebook | Instagram

About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

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