By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 16:20:40 | Updated at 2024-11-23 18:28:46
2 hours ago
As New York City bakeries go, this pastry shop takes the cake.
Veniero’s Pasticceria is celebrating its 130th anniversary this fall, and its fourth-generation owner dished on the East Village shop’s star-studded clientele — from Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio to Knicks star Jalen Brunson and the cast of “Sex and The City.”
Although known for their famous feud, “Ol’ Blue Eyes” and “Joltin’ Joe” could agree on one thing — the traditional Italian biscotti at Veniero’s.
The Yankees legend thought their almond Quaresimali cookies were a grand slam — and the “My Way” crooner preferred the sesame-seeded Regina cookies made his way — extra crispy.
“DiMaggio used to dunk the Quaresimali in his cappuccino. Sinatra loved those Regina biscuits. He liked them burnt,” owner Robert Zerilli told The Post.
“We shipped Sinatra big boxes to his house in Palm Springs. We have his autographed picture in the store, it says, ‘I love your pastries, but you’re killing me.'”
Other notable Italian Americans, like Al Pacino, Liza Minnelli and Steve Schirripa — who placed one of the biggest orders of cannoli Veniero’s had ever received — have been through the doors.
“Steve ordered 1,800 cannoli and made a tree out of it. It was set up at the restaurant Il Cortile in Little Italy to celebrate his cooking show. They continued to the ‘Today’ show and moved it to Rockefeller Plaza,” said Zerilli, 61, whose great-uncle Antonio Veniero founded the shop on East 11th Street in 1894.
Their treats are also a slam dunk with the sweet-shooting Brunson, who chose Veniero’s as one of his favorite spots in the city for a Delta travel guide promo he filmed there.
“He was eating some New York chocolate marble cheesecake along with a dollop of fresh whipped cream,” Zerilli said.
The point guard was “very kind and gracious,” and surprisingly mild mannered.
“A quiet guy, but we know on the boards he’s ferocious,” he said.
Their iconic white box with red lettering has even graced TV shows like the “Sex and The City” reboot “And Just Like That…,” and their just as legendary red-lettered sign outside advertising their name was used in an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which filmed at the shop.
Veniero’s, open 365 days a year, began as a confectionery-slash-pool hall, where its original owner made candy and sold espresso.
“In the rear yard, Antonio Veniero started roasting his own espresso. He put together six different beans. You could say he’s really one of the first that started to bring espresso here,” said Zerilli.
Veniero died in 1931 and his son Mike took over. Zerilli’s father, Frank — who worked for Mike, his first cousin — eventually bought the business in 1970.
Zerilli, who grew up in Haworth, N.J., took over in 1994, after his father died. His three sisters — Linda, Pegi and Claudia — are silent partners.
But the icing on the cake came after he married one of his customers, Jamie, who used to come in for an iced cappuccino topped with a scoop of espresso gelato.
“She loved the fruit tart and she actually picked me up. She’s like, ‘Do you want to go to this party in Queens?'” he said.
Their son Frankie, 36, has been working at the shop for the past 15 years, making him the fifth generation to lend a hand in the family business — which now boasts more than 50 employees, including Angelo, his manager, who married his cousin.
“It’s a generational thing,” he said. “We have a lot of cousins, they all worked here.”
One of Zerilli’s second cousins is Bruce Springsteen, via Springsteen’s mom, Adele Zerilli — which he didn’t find out about until he was 28.
Although The Boss has never been to his cugine’s store, he has tried their delicacies.
“The first time I met Bruce was at an event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we had to cater 5,000 pieces of miniatures [pastries]. I see Bruce right away and I gave him my card, and his wife was there and said, ‘What’s that?’ and he goes, ‘Cousin,'” he recalled.
Zerilli also treats his customers like family — and once surprised a 104-year-old who had her wedding cake made by Veniero’s in 1953 — by hand-delivering her birthday cake.
“She starts to cry because it must have brought back memories of her husband,” he said.
“And there were little cherubs on her wedding cake, and she still has the two cherubs in her room.”
