Ray's Pizza

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Ray's Pizza, or variations such as "Ray's Original Pizza," "Famous Ray's Pizza," "World-Famous Original Ray's Pizza,", etc, is the name of dozens of pizzerias in New York City. These establishments do not form any single franchise (although a few Ray's owners have multiple locations) and are generally completely independent of each other, although many have near identical menus and may even share signs and logos.

History

According to "Pizza Wars: New York vs. Chicago,", a Travel Channel documentary, the first "Ray" opened his establishment on Prince Street in 1929. He was in fact a "Ralph", Ralph Como of Little Italy. "Ray's Pizza" shops eventually spread to almost every street corner in Manhattan, although competition and legal action between each other have since reduced the number to 47 (according to the telephone directory).

Although the definition of "Ray's Pizza" is contentious, "Famous Ray's of Greenwich Village" at 465 6th Avenue, is in fact the restaurant which, in the 1980s made the network news by being the shop from which a group of students in London ordered some pies. They raised money, sent 2 people to New York (they were from New York, actually) and ordered several dozen pies which were reheated and enjoyed. The article is posted at the restaurant and probably available online. Although the name is the same, the restaurant was sold to a new owner in the early 1990s.

There are really two histories when it comes to "Ray's Pizza". It may be that the name had resonance because of Ralph Como's early use and reputation. But the spur for a "Ray's on every corner" was the rise, during the 1970s, of the aforementioned Ray's on 6th Avenue and 11th St. Owned by two brothers who immigrated from a town named Roio del Sangro in the Abruzzi region of Italy. it innovated the thick "eat it with a fork" slice which overtook New York in the ensuing years, for a time making a classic thin-crusted New York street slice difficult to find.

This was the Ray's most of the others were pretending to be during the Ray's avalanche of the '80s. Many believe the 6th Av. original (which at one point had a second branch on the Upper West Side) is not what it once was. And the thick slice it was famous for (with toppings under the top layer of cheese) - neither Chicago deep dish nor Travolta-style walking slice - is no longer ubiquitous. Both the standard New York slice and other pizzeria names have slowly regained their place in the city's streetscape.

Ray's Pizza in popular culture

The ubiquity of "Ray's Pizza" restaurants in New York City, and the similarity of their names, has been spoofed in popular culture.

On The Simpsons, the 1997 episode "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson" depicts a pizzeria displaying a sign reading "Original Famous Ray's -- Not Affiliated with Famous Original Ray's."

On Seinfeld, in the 1998 episode "The Maid", Kramer becomes lost in Manhattan and calls Jerry for help, leading to the following exchange:

KRAMER: I miss home, and I don't even know how to get there.
JERRY: What's around you?
KRAMER: I'm lookin' at Ray's Pizza. You know where that is?
JERRY: Is it Famous Ray's?
KRAMER: No. It's Original Ray's.
JERRY: Famous Original Ray's?
KRAMER: It's just Original, Jerry!

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On Futurama, the 2001 episode "A Tale Of Two Santas", Bender becomes the new Santa Claus and gets accused of crimes against humanity at "Famous Original Ray's Superior Court."
Another Futurama episode features the characters eating at "Original Cosmic Ray's Pizza".
In the Will Ferrell movie Elf, Santa Claus warns the title character of the dangers he will face in New York, including that "there are, like, thirty Ray's Pizzas. They all claim to be the original. But the real one's on 11th."
The music video "Me and Mia" by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists takes place above a Ray's Pizza.

References

"Pizza Wars: New York vs. Chicago" (documentary). Travel Channel cable television network.

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