BHB EXCLUSIVE: The commercial spaces at 214 and 216 Hicks Street, which were demolished in February to carve out a single larger parcel, will soon make good use of being “unsliced.” In June, 100% local Della Rocco’s of Brooklyn will begin cooking up brick-oven pizzas, along with a beer & wine bar specializing in borough brews. 
The new eatery is owned & operated by Brooklyn-bred brothers Greg and Glenn Markman and Joseph Secondino (who has known the bros for 30+ years). “We’re three guys who grew up eating pizza in Brooklyn,” Greg tells BHB. The trio also knows how to run a thriving eatery in Brooklyn Heights—as partners of Heights Cafe at 84 Montague Street, next door to the new pizzeria. The guys stress, however, that Della Rocco’s will have a separate kitchen from Heights Cafe, operating as an indie biz.
The partners are aiming for a June opening, with delivery and take-out available, along with in-room dining specializing in personal pizzas, according to Greg Markman. It will be open seven days a week, likely from noon to midnight.
In our sneak peak of the space Wednesday, a wood-burning brick pizza oven—being flown in from Italy—will line the back of the restaurant, while a generously proportioned bar is located to the right. A large picture window will be cut into the 214 (right) portion of the eatery, with a clear view of the historic Bossert Hotel across the street. The space also boasts 15-foot ceilings, making it feel spacious and welcoming.
The Hicks Street spaces formerly housed Overtures stationery and gift boutique at 216, which closed after 30 years in December 2011; and Dara Ettinger jewelry at 214, which opened in May 2011 and lasted eight months. High-end clothier J. McLaughlin is to the left, at 218 Hicks.
(Photos: Chuck Taylor)
