You are reading

Fire Damaged Pizzeria in Astoria Reopens With Help of GoFundMe Campaign

Retro Pizza Cafe in Astoria has started serving its customers once again (Photo via Instagram)

Sept. 27, 2021 By Michael Dorgan

A family-owned pizzeria in Astoria that closed in May after a fire tore through its storefront reopened Monday – with the help of a resident-backed GoFundMe campaign.

Retro Pizza Cafe, located at 41-02 Broadway, has started serving customers once again – more than four months after a fire caused extensive damage to its electrical and plumbing systems. The ceiling and some of the pizzeria’s equipment was also destroyed.

Daisy Avraamides, who owns the pizzeria with her husband and three sons, said the family had to gut the inside of the single-story building and renovate the space before reopening.

Avraamides said that the total cost of restoration work – as well as the purchasing of new equipment – came to around $170,000.

The co-owner said that a GoFundMe fundraiser, which she started at the urging of customers days after the blaze, brought in nearly $40,000 to cover some of the costs. Avraamides said that the donations were key to the pizzeria reopening.

“The GoFundMe helped a lot… there are a lot of good people out there,” Avraamides said.

The establishment’s insurance paid out $30,000 while the food delivery app company Slice also made a financial donation. The family footed the remainder of the bill, she said.

“It’s been a very challenging time, you never expect anything like that to happen and thank God we are all alive,” Avraamides said. “Thanks to the customers and members of the community who called here every day to try and help us.”

Avraamides said the blaze in May was an electrical fire that started behind a refrigerator.

The pizzeria has been restored to its former look with fresh paint and new tables placed inside and outside. All of the glass windows at the front of the shop have been replaced.

The family held a soft reopening today and handed out free slices to customers. They will fully reopen Wednesday when online deliveries resume.

“We are a bit nervous about reopening after not making pizza for so long. Our hands are still shaking but we are happy to be serving.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Retro Pizza Cafe (@retro_pizza_cafe)

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 
Pizza Lover

three cheers for:
* pizza in NYC and specifically Astoria
* people who can rebuild their community restaurant
* people who support local pizza by donating
* slice for being a good business partner and donating

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Fall fun in western Queens: Your guide to the best seasonal events

Aug. 29, 2025 By Jessica Militello

With beach days and summer BBQs behind us, the start of September rings in the start of magnificent Fall foliage, Halloween and more fun activities that come with the start of Autumn, including a list of Fall events in the area. From apple picking to seasonal ciders and more, there is tons to explore in the community. From Mystic Markets to scary movie meet-ups and more, here is a list of Fall events you do not want to miss.

MTA opens three new modernized elevators at the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the opening of three new modernized elevators at the Queens Plaza E/M/R subway station in Long Island City earlier this month as part of a larger accessibility and safety upgrades throughout the transit system.

The work included a full replacement of the cab and equipment within the cab, shaft and pit, along with two new elevator head houses located at street level. Crews also made modifications to the shaft and pit as needed to allow for new equipment. The elevator machine room and electrical and mechanical equipment received replacements and other modernization efforts for reliability.

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.