By JACK DELANEY | jdelaney@queensledger.com

“You don’t remember me,” the man in his thirties said, beaming, “but I used to get pizza here when I was a little kid.”

Santo Zito had just arrived at Smiling Pizza to receive an award, and the booths of his beloved Park Slope eatery were packed with long-time customers eager to give him his flowers.

It had been decades in the making: on Sunday afternoon, the family-owned, triple-generational pizzeria — known to many locals as Smiley’s — was inducted into the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry, joining 277 other ventures around the state that have both been open for at least 50 years and have become an integral part of their community’s history.

“It’s Always Good”

Smiling Pizza’s roots trace back to the mid-60s, when Santo emigrated to NYC from Sicily — trying his luck in a wide array of industries before settling on pizza.

“He put duct systems with sheet metal into the World Trade Center. He sold fruits and vegetables out of a van down on the street corner. He did car service,” recalled his son, Stefano Zito. “He did what he had to do as an immigrant coming to a new country. That was the bottom line with the pizzeria. He’s like, at the very least, my family won’t go hungry. But it’s stuck, thank God, and here we are 50 years later.”

By 1975, the Zito family was living in Bensonhurst. Some of Santo’s friends laughed at him for jumping at the opportunity to buy a pizza shop in faraway Park Slope, but his mind was set.

Things were a bit cramped, at first. There were only two tables, and with no room for a real kitchen the family’s matriarch, Maria Concetta, would cook the chicken and veal cutlets at home in Bensonhurst every morning and bring them to the store.

Park Sloper Bob Kaye remembers those early days. He started going to Smiling Pizza not long after it opened, and recounted how on rainy days his mother would send him to run along the tunnels between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue and bring back a couple slices.

“I still come a lot,” said Kaye, who is now 75. “I’ll get a meatball parm to go, they make great sandwiches, or I’ll get a plate sometimes — they have great baked ziti and ravioli too. It’s always good.”

The Zitos expanded into the adjacent storefront in the ‘80s, and business has been buzzing ever since.

“The neighborhood feels like our family at this point,” said Stefano, and they’ve tried to give back to the community that has supported them. Smiling Pizza has sponsored Little League Baseball through the 78th Precinct for years, while donating to the nearby Saint Saviour Catholic Academy. They also offer a special 10% discount for anyone affiliated with Methodist, the enormous hospital two blocks away.

That spirit of generosity extends beyond the pizzeria’s official gestures. “Santo, the owner of Smiling Pizza, was quite a life saver to most of us kids,” wrote Eric Britt on Facebook, earlier this summer. “My first car got new shocks with Tony’s help in ‘76.”

A Slice of History

The Historic Business Preservation Registry was created in 2020 to celebrate local spots, while giving them a boost amid rising costs fueled by gentrification.

“From the delicatessens that have fed immigrant communities for over a hundred years, to the bars that provided safe havens for LGBTQ New Yorkers, to the timeless Hudson Valley inns that were visited by some of our country’s founders,” said Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell at the time, “New York State has many businesses that serve as invaluable symbols of our pride and heritage.”

But, O’Donnell added, “Many businesses face unprecedented challenges that threaten their ability to survive and serve their communities.”

The honorary initiative doesn’t carry the stricter requirements and regulations of landmark status. Yet lawmakers have noted it could someday include financial assistance and other perks.

The registry launched with 100 participants, and continues to grow. In 2024, the state increased the maximum by local reps each term from two to 10. The list now encompasses eight locations in Brooklyn, boasting the likes of Sahadi’s and Gleason’s Gym in Downtown; the unmissable Kellogg’s Diner off Metropolitan Ave; and most recently, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park in Coney Island.

Smiling Pizza was nominated by Assemblymember Bobby Carroll, who said the addition was a no-brainer. “I don’t know if the first slice of pizza I ever had was at Smiling Pizza, but I’ve been eating it for 39 years,” he told the small crowd of customers who’d come for the event. “I think it was my sons’ first slice.”