Montclair's Bivio Pizzeria Closes, Suddenly And Permanently

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The oven at Bivio Pizzeria Napoletana has stopped turning out Neapolitan-style pizzas, owner Tomasso Colao announced Monday.

The Pine Street dining room may have been diminutive and the menu brief, but people crowded in to eat the fire-baked pizzas, made with flour from Naples and San Marzano tomatoes. Local and national food writers heaped praise on Bivio for its fresh ingredients, taste, atmosphere, and the care put into the food.

Colao and his wife Jackie opened Bivio in 2011 in Little Falls, closed it in 2015, and then later reopened in Montclair with a smaller menu and the same natural yeast culture from Naples that they've had for more than 20 years, which they call "the baby."

"Jackie and I have now reached a crossroad (un bivio) and look forward to the next chapter, another journey perhaps," Colao wrote on social media. "This has been a bittersweet decision, much like a Napoletana espresso, bitter until tasting the sweetness of the unstirred sugar at the bottom of the demi-tasse, like life - And so it goes…"

The last day was September 17, Colao said on Monday.

The pizzeria also closed for some time last year, so Colao could focus on his health.

"It has been our pleasure to serve our guests/friends with the best quality ingredients available to offer a true pizza Napoletana," he wrote. "We thank all of you for your support and you will always remain special to us. A huge shout out of thanks to our wonderful staff who made the dream possible and were always there for us, you are truly family."