My father had a pizza place with my uncles in Park Slope: 10th Street and 5th Avenue. They had it from the late ‘60s, and it was damaged by a fire in 1990. This made things a little tougher back then, so I “followed the pizza” and moved to Roanoke, Virginia, to help my uncle, who had a pizza place down there. My family stayed here, and I lived with my grandparents and my uncle. I went to high school down there and worked making pizza after school.

I graduated in ‘94. I went to my other uncle, Raymond, in Maryland and worked for him for about 6-7 months. My uncle, Tony, asked me to come back and become partners, so I went back to Roanoke, and I became partners with him in the pizzeria. I was there until 2001 when I had a life-changing experience: I lost three of my buddies on 9/11 in the World Trade Center. That day, I drove back to the neighborhood, but I wasn’t able to get in until the next day. I was in limbo for a year — year and a half. I just took some time off to spend with family and friends. 

I tried a couple of different things. I went into real estate, which I had done in Virginia as well. My mother said, “Why don’t you just go back into the restaurant business?” because I had done this for so long. My brother comes home one day and goes, “Joe, I got a friend looking at a place on 77th Street. It’s a couple blocks away from Harry’s!” And that’s how I ended up with the location on 77th Street. My address there is 7708. My address in Virginia is 708. The name of the place in Virginia is New York Pizzas. It’s still there — my uncle passed on, but the place is still there. I had lived in Virginia for nine years eleven months, and I moved back on 9/11.

My brother was a freshman in college. I said, “Why don’t we become partners?” And we’ve been doing it for many years. I never went to school to be a chef or anything like that. My grandma taught me. When I lived in Virginia, she taught me how to cook by watching her cook. Plus, being Italian-American, my mom, grandmother, aunts — they were always in the kitchen. But I know how to eat better than I know how to cook. 

Pizza is my favorite thing in the world. I’ve always had a passion for it. So, put those together, and you’ve got Peppino’s on Third Avenue. Peppino is just another name for Joe. My mother calls me Peppino, so when I was trying to figure out a name, I was like, “Domino’s, Domino’s, Peppino’s, Peppino’s …” and my mother had called me that since I was a baby, so why not Peppino’s? 

Tell me about the Pizza Dunno on your menu. 

It’s been on the menu for about eight to ten years. I used to have a customer come in, and I happened to make this pizza that was half pizza, half calzone. He was a writer for the Daily News, which I didn’t really know at the time. He asked me what I called it. I said, “Pizza I Dunno!” and he goes, “What do you mean?” I said, “It’s for if you don’t know if you want a pizza or a calzone.” That’s how I came up with it. 

The Peppino’s Empire also includes Peppino’s Liquors & Wines — how did this come to be? 

Me, my brother and my sisters: We all have a piece of the liquor store and the pizzeria downtown. I got into it by accident a few years back. It was a rough period in the restaurant industry, just like it is now. I knew a guy from Caesar’s Liquor Store, Tony, through my friend Mario. Tony is a good friend now. I didn’t know anything about the wine or liquor business whatsoever.

I go to this guy, Tony, and I’m like, “Tony, Mario sent me.” Mario is a neighborhood guy, so he knew him. That’s how I got into Caesar’s. Access to that gave me a lot more knowledge. He showed me the ropes. I went to tastings with his brother, Pino, who I think has one of the best palettes in New York City. I learned about the wines, and — same way with the restaurant — it’s not what I like; it’s what the customers like. I have to always take that into consideration. I’m lucky because it seems like the masses like what I like. 

Over the years in the wine business, I’ve gotten to meet great people. Anthony Zraly, whose father is Kevin Zraly, showed me another side of the business that I did not know. Elmer from Frederick Wildman introduced me to even more. There’s more to it than selling wine. You have to know how to buy it first.

You’re a social media legend. How did you build up such a large following on Instagram and TikTok?

God loves the stupid. [Laughs]. No, no. So, I’m in the car with my wife during Covid. We’re really struggling. I have this business, and I can’t figure out how to get people into the store. That was never my problem before. I say to my wife, “I don’t know what’s going on here!” And my son, who was seven at the time, goes, “Dad, I got this idea. Why don’t we start doing these TikToks?” I didn’t even know what TikTok was. I go, “What do you mean?” He goes, “Dad, I tell you, you tell me, we cook together, and you bring it out.” So, it was my son’s idea. He has a personality, and I happen to have a personality. I’m just being myself. I’m just showing people what my grandma and my mother taught me. 

That’s how it started. I make, you know, spaghetti, garlic and oil; I make penne with tomato and basil; I make a chicken dish, a fish, clams, all of that. I’ll show my son how to make a pizza, and he’ll put it in the oven, all these little things. Before you knew it, people took a liking to it. I reached a thousand, and I said, “Oh my god, look at this!” And then it was 2,000, 5,000, 10,000. Now, between the both of them, I’m close to over 400,000 followers. 

To this day, it’s not mine; it’s my son’s. He gives me quotas: “Dad, I want you to get to 100,000.” I’m trying to teach my boy — and my daughter; I have a daughter too, but she doesn’t like the camera as much as my son — that if you work hard enough, you can do anything. It’s not my era of social media; it’s theirs. I just want to show my kids that if you’re committed to anything, you can reach the stars. When it rains, you still have to do it. 

Everything I do is clean. I try not to be divisive or whatever. I say, “God bless you, and God bless America.” I’m looking at this thing I have as if I’m talking to an audience of nine-year-olds. 90% of the message behind it is toward my son and my daughter, who’s 18. I don’t say, “This is going out to my son or my daughter.” I just be myself and just be committed to that message, and that’s what I do. 

There are a lot of creators capitalizing on the Brooklyn Italian-American vibe on social media. How do you stand out? 

I try not to set myself apart — or towards — other people. I just do what I do. This is how I was raised. This is what my mother and father went through. They’re the true pillars of me as an Italian-American. My mother came here in 1968 when she was 14. My dad came in 1970. My dad jumped ship. My mother went to work. She didn’t go to school. She had to live in an apartment with my Aunt Theresa and grandmother. They’re the true heroes. What I’m doing now is just a reflection of their sacrifice. I live in the golden age of Italian Americans. I’m only showing how I was raised. My mother is the real hero. She’s the one who sacrificed. 

Their sacrifices and teachings made it easier for me to do what I do. My grandfather used to hang the bacalà outside. It’s not just food; it’s the way we were raised. He used to make wine in the fall. My mother used to help my grandfather make the wine. My grandmother would make the tomatoes with my aunts in the basement. The basement was the nucleus of the house. It was all about family. 

It’s not done purposefully. This is how I am. I don’t know how they are, but this is how I bring out my culture because this is the only culture I know. If I knew another culture, I’d probably bring that out. 

Now, you’re able to bring that feeling to people around the world through social media. How has the Brooklyn Italian-American culture been received by your followers?

I’m still Joe Mancino. I never changed. I was this individual 20 years ago, 30 years ago and today. I never changed for anybody, poor or rich. I’m Joe Mancino, you like me, you like me; you don’t like me, you don’t have to like me. I’m being me. If you’re loving it, God bless ya. If you’re not loving it, I’m still Joe.  

What’s next for Peppino Joe? 

If I knew that, I would hit the lotto every week. The reality is this: I’m diabetic. That’s the downfall of my life– my health. I love the restaurant work, but I love my kids more. A lot to do with what I choose in the next year or two or decade has to do with my health more than my pride because of my love of my kids. That’s a question that’s been in my mind for a while now. I trust in the guy upstairs. This land has given me so much. I’m very happy to be an American. I love to do whatever I can do for the land, but I have to be here for my kids.