Thomas Cucco is an entrepreneur from Brooklyn and like many people from his home borough, he also loves pizza. After working in the restaurant business for over 20 years, he came up with a food idea that got him quite a bit of notoriety and has turned into a growing business.
He met Lori Greiner when he was a contestant on the television show Shark Tank. The television personality and inventor invested in his concept and together they have secured large accounts like Whole Foods and Fresh Direct and can now be found in over 600 supermarkets.
The What:
There are many classic and historic coal-oven pizzerias in the city. Problem is none of them serve slices. If you want to try a place like Lombardi's or Juliana's, you've got order an entire pie. And those pies can be quite large.
Thomas figured out a way to not only serve the charred coal-oven style pizza by the slice to customers in Brooklyn, but also how to package, freeze, and ship slices of this great pizza so people outside of the city can enjoy them too.
The original storefront opened on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights in 2012. The restaurant has a very old-fashioned New York feel with a dining room in back and a slice joint in front. We have often visited the shop for slices as a special stop on our Brownstone Brooklyn Tour. It's not included on every tour but is always a crowd pleaser. Thomas expanded the business with two more locations in Brooklyn - one in Gowanus and the other in Industry City.
The Why:
There is a great number of pizzerias along Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights. But only one serves traditional New York-coal oven pizza by the slice. When you taste that char and soft chewy dough, you realize why Table 87 is worth walking a little further down Atlantic Avenue for.
The Where:
Table 87
87 Atlantic Avenue
New York, NY 11201