The story behind the slice: East Village Pizza

NBC New York's Lauren Scala has spent years finding the stories behind the storefronts that make New York City what it is — the people and places that give the city its texture beyond the obvious landmarks. When she sat down with Frank Kabatas of East Village Pizza for New York Live, she found one of the better stories the city has to offer: a slice shop with a slice of the American dream built right into it.

Kabatas's story has been told in the New York Post, the New York Times, Good Morning America, and several other outlets, but Lauren Scala's approach for NBC New York brought a particular warmth to the profile. The focus was not just on the business milestones — the firing, the ownership, the media recognition — but on the human element: what drives a person to stay in a city that has already knocked them down, to keep working toward ownership of the very place that let them go?

The answer, as Kabatas tells it, is love for New York and love for the product. He came to this city in 1997 knowing nothing about pizza. He left his first job in the industry under difficult circumstances. And yet the experience of working in a Manhattan pizzeria — the pace, the community, the craft of making something people genuinely need and enjoy — created an attachment that he could not walk away from. He stayed. He learned. He came back as the owner.

East Village Pizza today is a reflection of everything Kabatas absorbed in those years between delivery driver and proprietor. The 72-hour cold-fermented dough is not a marketing detail — it is the result of years of experimentation with fermentation times and hydration levels to achieve the flavor and texture he was looking for. The fresh mozzarella made in-house daily is the non-negotiable that he has never compromised on, because the difference between fresh and commercial mozzarella on a pizza is the difference between good and great.

Lauren Scala's profile for NBC New York captured the restaurant on a busy afternoon, the kind of scene that plays out every day at 145 1st Ave: a line of regulars, a mix of neighborhood locals and tourists who found the place through a recommendation or a social media post, and Kabatas himself moving through the space with the energy of someone who still finds the work meaningful after more than two decades.

The double-stacked pizza got its moment in the NBC segment, as it tends to in any visual medium — it is the kind of creation that stops people mid-bite. Two full pies baked together, extra cheese layered between the crusts, the whole thing golden and bubbling out of the oven. It photographs beautifully, it tastes exactly as indulgent as it looks, and it is available nowhere else in Manhattan.

The story behind the slice at East Village Pizza is the story of what New York does best: take someone with nothing but determination, put them in the middle of one of the most competitive food markets in the world, and see what they build. What Kabatas built is worth a visit to 145 1st Ave — open until 3AM on weekdays and 5AM on weekends, serving everything from a classic $4.99 cheese slice to a $46 double-stacked whole pie.