Why is my Pizzeria called
Joe's Pizza of the Village?

It's no where near the Village, it's not even in Manhattan, it's on 5th Avenue in Park Slope Brooklyn. But I did work in "Joe's Pizza" in the Village for many years, learning how to make that special pizza you can only get in the heart of Greenwich Village. The crispy crusted perfect plain cheese slice is now being made at my own Pizzeria in Park Slope Brookln, just like I did in the Village when I worked at Joe's. To show my respect and gratitude I decided to name my place, "Joe's Pizza of the Village", even though it's in Park Slope.

My name is Victor Zarco, but you can call me Joe. I am the owner of "Joe's Pizza of the Village" located at 483 5th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I would like to tell you a little bit about how my business started.

In 1987 while looking for a leather jacket in Manhattan I ended up on Bleecker Street in the Village. This is where everything began, in Joe's Pizza.

I found myself asking for a job. It was one of the most important jobs since my arrival in New York City. In Joe's pizza I learned many thing's but, the most important thing I learned was that I have to work hard to succeed in life. In this pizza place I started from the bottom and worked my way up and officially I became the pizza man of Joe's pizza.

One day Mr. Joe, his real name is Pino Pozzuoli told me that to become a good pizza man you must have the heart to do it. You must be willing to start from the bottom and learn to do everything in a pizzeria from mopping the floor to delivering pies. Joe had become an important name in my vocabulary that's why I decided to name my pizza place Joe's pizza of the village.

I really have to say I am proud because I learned a lot from the only best thank you Mr. Joe pino Pozzuoli Back then I had no idea that I would end up working in a place that would became part of so many important TV shows and movies, such as "Sex in the City", "Everybody loves Raymond" , "Along came Poly", "Spiderman 2" a Nike commercial and even a New York Magazine Article!

I remember seeing a poster in the subway of Jessica Parker of Sex in the City eating a fresh mozzarella slice. It was really exciting knowing she was eating a slice that I had made!

My Pizza tastes just like the best of Little Italy!

Lovingly Baked
Pizza in the heart of
Park Slope Brooklyn.

When they shot Spiderman 2 the producers thought I was too short to be the pizza man in the movie, but it was better because by not letting me on they gave me a better place with my kids to be on the big screen. I worked at Joe's for many years and eventually all of my hard work and sacrifices paid off. By 2004 I had saved enough money to open my own place. Since Joe had become such an important name in my vocabulary I decided to call my business "Joe's Pizza of the Village".

In the past three years I have been able to keep my business moving up. From making better pizzas to teaching my workers everything there is to know to keep a customer happy. After 2 years of hard work in my pizza place, Time Out magazine has called my pizzeria one of the best in Brooklyn! After 18 years of hard work I think I deserve it.

As you may all know most of the pizza places in NYC are owned by Italians but, if you look carefully in most of the them the workers are either Mexican or Latin. I am a proud Mexican, and even though I am not Italian I can tell you that I make one of the best pizzas you have ever tasted. I want to invite you to come visit us in Brooklyn and try one of my specialties, like Spicy Chicken Pizza or my Chicken Tomato Pesto Pizza, maybe you'd like my Vodka Sauce Pizza or my delicious Pepperoni or Chicken Rolls!

Thank you New York With Love and Gratitude,

"Joe" Victor Zarco