Freddie's Pizzeria In Long Branch Closes; Future Uncertain

LONG BRANCH, NJ — Freddie's Pizzeria announced it has closed after 75 years of business. The restaurant opened on Broadway in 1944 and had been passed down for generations.

The restaurant announced a new establishment called Lezamas Pizzeria will take their location. Freddie's owner Mark Brockriede wrote on the company's Facebook page that he doesn't know what the future holds for the restaurant.

"You never know, as they say: when one door closes another one opens," he wrote.

The announcement follows months of speculation about the restaurant's future. A sign on the door told customers it was temporarily closed, the Asbury Park Press reported in June.

Brockriede, a third-generation owner in the family, ran the restaurant from 1995-2017. Two years ago, he said he no longer had time to run it and passed it off to a cousin. The family member has since returned the restaurant to Brockriede, according to the Asbury Park Press.

"We understand the great disappointment of our loyal customers and believe me, we are just as disappointed by this outcome as all of you," Brockriede wrote. "After selling Freddies 2 years ago, to a fourth generation family member, the last thing we expected was to see the business closed without warning."

Fred Scialla founded Freddie's, which originally opened across the street from its present location. The restaurant moved to its present location in 1952. Scialla was an Italian baker with a unique pizza dough recipe, which he passed onto future generations. Freddie's specialized in thin crust pizza and Italian dinners.

Brockriede and hope people continue to follow their Facebook and Instagram pages for updates.

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