Local Pizzeria ‘Della Rocco’s Of Brooklyn’ Cooks Up June Opening

By on April 25, 2012 4:12 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Food, Real Estate

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)

Share this Story:

, , ,

←  Older Comments
 →
  • AEB

    It isn’t the “vitriol” that bothers me on threads like this–part of the fun of blogging, here and elsewhere, is exercising the Right to Bitch.

    Rather, it’s the endless hamster-wheel spinning of the same old stories: Montague Street restaurants suck–we KNOW that–BH is deficient in decent dining spots–we know that. This or that restaurant is good, no it’s bad, no it’s good, no it’s etc., etc., etc.

    Here’s what I propose: Let’s elect a BH Board of Taste. These exalted palates will taste and report–and WHAT THEY SAY, GOES! Or stands. It will be completely undemocratic, and that will be our salvation.

    Do I hear an amen? Perhaps the election/ascension process can be handled by the BHA. In consultation, of course, with the resident poobahs at Great Wall….

  • ColumbiaHeightster

    Amen, AEB! Very Orwellian.

  • hoppy

    To pile on Heights Cafe, if I may. When I order a draught beer with a price consistent with what other places charge for a pint, I expect a pint. Don’t bring me an 11 oz. lager glass and expect me not to know the difference. And the food is nothing to write home about BTW.

  • stuart

    Old time Brooklyn Heighters are notorious skinflints. When I hear that the Heights Cafe or Armando’s or wherever are “awful” which they are not, I know that what they really mean is that the check was higher than it was in 2003.

  • Jorale-man

    @AEB what bothers me aren’t the repeated tropes so much as the over-the-top nature of the opinions. Is the Heights Cafe really across-the-board “awful” or just deficient with some dishes and not with others? I’ve had an excellent omelet there for Sunday brunch, for instance, but was a bit underwhelmed with a pasta dish. And I’ve had both good and bad meals across Montague Street, sometimes at the same restaurant. A little nuance please!

  • EHinBH

    Try the calzone at Fascati — simple and great. Ask for a side of sauce (sadly they charge for that).

  • Heightsman

    13 years in the hood. Heights Cafe sucks and I told the owners such. Look at staff turnover. A true test of management. They have a new and indifferent group always except for a few key positions. I liked the Italian place they owned but sorry most real BH residents avoid HC at all cost. Take away the sidewalk option and it would never be busy. Small round tables with 8oz soft drinks and small draft beers. Sometimes it’s the small things. PS: tell the bartender to cut the two foot ponytail…Megadeath ain’t callin.

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/13189502@N02/ Eddyenergizer

    I’m not a fan of Heights Cafe either. My problem with it and other places like it, is the pretense of upscale while being mediocre. They charge high end for gussied up diner food. I would rather spend a few extra bucks at a place like JTH or HE and get the real deal.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    Stuart,
    Armando’s is mediocre at best.

  • Lenbee

    I feel it’s great to have a new local-owned and run quality Piizzaria in the Heights. As Chuck Taylor clearly indicated, the place is a separate (independent) business endeavor from the Heights Cafe. Even if it were a “branch”of the H.C. I don’t see any problem. I’ve always received courteous and prompt service there. Independent means independent. I don’t know why this thread is being woven into a barbed wire cloak to dish the H.C.(?)
    Let’s stick to the topic;a NEW Pizza joint!

  • She’s Crafty

    @HSG agree that Grimaldi’s and Ignazio’s are certainly better pizza, but when I want to take my kid for a slice I’m not going to go down there, wait on line, and then have to order a whole pie. Having said this, I am lately feeling that My Little Pizzeria is better than Fascati’s, and I’ve had a decent slice recently at Monty’s too. The trick is to always order your slice well done. Nothing grosser than congealed, possibly fake cheese.

    Re: Armando’s – I really, really wanted to like it. I went several times before they closed and loved the sort of old world red sauce-ness about it. I was super psyched when they reopened and the menu looks great and the food isn’t bad, but both times I went there (with another woman) we were seated all the way in the back and I got a creepy feeling about that, so I haven’t been back there. They have this one ridiculous booth for two that is really children sized.

  • resident

    @Stuart: You’re probably right, but the prices don’t match the quality of the products, if they ever did. I’ve given Armando’s a couple shots since it re-opened, and the food’s been good. But when I get the bill, I think that I would have gotten better food for similar prices at other neighborhood restaurants.

    @Jarole-man: You’re also right. Most of the places on montague and in the neighborhood aren’t awful. Most are merely mediocre or inconsistent. I’ve eaten at Heights Cafe several times and never walked away completely satisfied. Can I find something to eat? Sure. But usually when I leave, I wish I had just gone to a different restaurant in the neighborhood that served whatever style of dish I ordered.

  • WillowSt.Neighbor

    resident,
    I have to agree with you about Armando’s. We were excited to go there when they reopened. The food was just OK but we were also shocked when the bill came. The bill seemed high for small portions of what I consider just so-so food.

  • Jacob

    MadeInBrooklyn,

    Screw you, gluten free pizza would be great in the neighborhood. But I guess you don’t care about people that have an actual medical condition.

  • hicks st guy

    @Jacob, my sympathies, but all these syndromes, ADD, Lactose intolerence, gluten intolerence, are all so tiresome. some people even kvetch about sulfites in wine, a naturally occuring product, mostly. enough.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Hicks st guy,
    Celiac disease, or as you ignorantly put it “gluten intolerance”, is a serious disease. I wonder if you would be so obnoxiously smug if you or someone you cared about (if thats possible) suffered from it.

    And as far as sulfites in wine. yes they do occur naturally to a small degree but they are also added to wine as a preservative. In some wines the concentrations are high enough to cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma attacks. It’s not “kvetching”. Do your homework, until then SU.

  • She’s Crafty

    @Arch he was being provocative and you fell for it.

  • MadeInBrooklyn

    Jacob (the keyboard warrior),

    No need to get uppity… Of course I care about people with an “actual medical condition,” nothing I wrote implied otherwise.

  • http://chucktaylorblog.blogspot.com/ Chuck Taylor

    And to think… this all started out as a positive post about a promising new local restaurant in our beloved neighborhood… sigh…

  • ColumbiaHeightster

    Chuck T., the words “par for the course” come to mind.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    @She’s Crafty, perhaps so, but I’lll set them (you too MiB) straight anyway.

←  Older Comments
 →