Big Apple Pizza () is an Israeli pizza chain with 11 branches throughout Israel, founded in 1986.

History

Big Apple Pizza was founded in 1986 by Haim Kedem, in the Jerusalem mall, Dorot Rishonim. Kedem had spent many years in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and upon moving to Israel decided to open a pizza shop to bring the piece of NYC with him. Kedem's pizza, in traditional NYC fashion was made with a thin crust. In 1996, Kedem expanded the business outside of Jerusalem for the first time, opening his first pizza shop in

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

. In 2000, Kedem died and left the business to his two sons, who still run the business.

Branches

The inside of all the Big Apple Pizza locations is set up to remind patrons of the NYC experience. The tables are set up as if to be a New York City café, with pictures of the city. Additionally, they have many American license plates on their walls. , there are 11 branches of Big Apple Pizza: * Jerusalem – Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall * Jerusalem – Beit Hakerem * Jerusalem –

Katamon Katamon or Qatamon (; ; ; from the Ancient Greek ), officially known as Gonen (; mainly used in municipal publications), is a neighborhood in south-central Jerusalem. It is built next to an old Greek Orthodox monastery, believed to have been cons ...

* Jerusalem –

Gilo Gilo () is an Israeli settlement in south-western East Jerusalem, with a population of 30,000, mostly Jewish inhabitants. Although it is located within the Jerusalem Municipality, it is widely considered a settlement, because as one of the five ...

* Jerusalem –

Ramat Eshkol Ramat Eshkol (; ) (also Ramot Eshkol ) is an Israeli settlement and neighborhood in northern East Jerusalem. It was built on land captured from Jordan in the Six-Day War and occupied by Israel since 1967, and was the first settlement built in Ea ...

* Jerusalem –

Givat Shaul Givat Shaul (, lit. (''Saul's Hill''); ) is a neighborhood in West Jerusalem. The neighborhood is located at the western entrance to the city, east of the neighborhood of Har Nof and north of Kiryat Moshe. Givat Shaul stands 820 meters above sea ...

* Azrieli Modi’in Mall *

Gush Etzion Gush Etzion (, ' Etzion Bloc) is a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the Judaean Mountains, directly south of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the West Bank. The core group includes four Jewish agricultural villages that were founded in 1943� ...

Mevaseret Zion Mevaseret Zion () is a town and local council located to the west of Jerusalem, straddling both sides of the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim, under ...

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city council (Israel), city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named afte ...

Kashrut

All of Big Apple Pizza's locations throughout Israel are

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

, including those in Eilat, which is primarily secular. The six Jerusalem locations are Rabbanut Yerushalayim Mehadrin.

In popular culture

In August 2014,

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( , ; born December 6, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021. A member of the Democratic Party and son of former governor Mario Cuomo, ...

, the former

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

, went to Israel to show support for the country during

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

. As part of his trip, Cuomo met with students from New York studying in Israel at Big Apple Pizza.

References

{{Authority control Restaurant chains in Israel Restaurants established in 1986 1986 establishments in Israel Pizza chains Restaurants in Jerusalem

History

Branches

Kashrut

In popular culture

See also

References