Brooklyn Pizza Legend Dom De Marco of Di Fara Pizzeria Passed Away At The Age Of 85

Pix11 -  The man behind some of New York’s most beloved pizza has died at the age of 85, family said Thursday.

Domenico “Dom” DeMarco served up slices from Di Fara’s pizzeria in Midwood for decades. People would wait in line outside for an hour to try his pizza.

“He was the hardest working man I know and he was a leader and will remain a leader through his legacy,” a family member wrote on Di Fara’s Instagram page. “It is with a broken heart that I must share that he has left my mom, my brothers, my sister , myself and all those that loved him because it was his time . My dad ‘Dom’ was 85 years old and all our hearts will be broken.”

De Marco opened Di Fara Pizza in 1965, according to the company website. He came to Brooklyn from Italy. De Marco spent more than half a century working on pizza. He kept cooking in the restaurant kitchen and serving up slices into his 80s. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio once called Di Fara’s pizza “the best slice in town.”

We threw up Dave's review video yesterday in honor of Dom's passing but I felt he deserved more recognition.

If you've ever been to Di Fara you already know. 

If you haven't, I'd suggest booking a flight to La Guardia, a hotel in Brooklyn, don't even bother with Manhattan, and hitting Di Fara ASAP. (If you do stay in Manhattan, do not try to venture out to Avenue J in the middle of the afternoon. You will sit in excruciating traffic, and it only gets worse when the Orthodox kids in the neighborhood get out of school and the streets grind to a halt).

To say Di Fara is an institution is doing it a disservice. 

The product is unquestionably off the charts. But visiting it in person, watching them make everything from scratch right in front of your eyeballs, taking in the smells, watching them peel the pies out of the oven, dressing them with some olive oil, and then watching the old man, "Dom", cut the basil with scissors over the top, somehow managed to make an exceptional pizza taste even better. 

Whoever is taking over those scissors has got LARGE shoes to fill.

Rest in peace to one of the greats.