Rigoletto on 72nd street ended its 21 year run on the Upper West Side with a bang on Sunday, selling so much pizza they ran out of dough hours before the night had ended. In fact, the store had to turn customers away before 7 p.m. even though it had told people they could get free pizza until 9 p.m.
Manager Joey Simons told us that one woman had ordered 30 pies and said she would freeze them to eat later. Another came in to buy one slice of each kind of pizza and planned to eat one per night.
On Thursday, owner Cristina Castaneda will open Rigoletto’s replacement, which is being called Communal. It will serve organic salads and juices, as well as flatbread “wheels” that sound a lot like pizzas.
Simons sent us a photo of Rigoletto when it first opened in 1992 on 69th street and Columbus.
If they really open this new place on Thursday, that will probably set a record for quickest restaurant rebranding in history. Seriously, to do that, they would have to have basically done dress rehearsals behind the scenes, revamped inventory, acquired new menus and decor, etc. We shall see.
Just to add more thought – Rigoletto very might have been at least a little more successful if it had a website so people could easily find the menu. Pretty unheard-of these days for any restaurant that is not a total hole in the wall to lack a decent online presence. Communal should give that some consideration.
They never should have moved from the old location on Columbus Ave .. Also, the started to charge way too much for the their slices … I’ll miss that little salsa bar thing they had …
They should move back to the original location on Columbus. Rigoletto is a beloved upper west side place. El Mitote can go.
I’m so sad to learn Rigoletto is closing. My favorite pizza on UWS…
Just tried them. Very good. Along with next door Legend Chinese restaurant, 72nd street is becoming my favorite food corridor!