Owner Of Historic CT Restaurant Passes Away

NEW HAVEN, CT — The owner of legendary restaurant Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana has died. Serafina Lucy Pepe DeMusis, 93, of Hamden, passed away at Yale New Haven Hospital-St. Raphael Campus with her loving family by her side.

She was the wife of the late Dominic DeMusis and the daughter of the late Francesco and Filomena Volpe Pepe, founders of the pizzeria.

"She learned from her parents that working hard and providing for your family were important tools in laying the foundation for a beautiful life," her obituary reads. "Sera believed in La Famiglia. She was a very strong, hardworking woman who cared and provided for her children and taught them the same work ethic instilled in her by her parents."

DeMusis would affectionately refer to the restaurant as her "baby."

Pepe Pizzeria was founded in 1925 at 163 Wooster St. Frank Pepe "was the quintessential Italian immigrant. Poor and illiterate, he immigrated to the United States in 1909 at age 16 with little more than his health and a strong work ethic," according to the restaurant's website.

Visiting hours will be Thursday evening from 4-8pm in the Iovanne Funeral Home, Inc. 11 Wooster Place. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday morning at 11:00am in St. Michael Church, 29 Wooster Place New Haven. Burial will follow in All Saints Cemetery, North Haven. Memorial contributions may be made to the Connecticut Food Bank www.ctfoodbank.org.