One month after its closure, now-vacant Barboncino still lingers in the minds of its customers and workers—and in the larger conversation around labor power in Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN — Barboncino in Crown Heights served its last wood-fired pizza on Feb. 28.
The pizzeria had become known for more than its Neapolitan style crust: it was the first unionized pizza place in the city and a community staple.
“It is a place where you can go at any moment and see someone that you want to talk to,” said Andrea Lopez, 34, a bartender and server at Barboncino, who lamented the loss. “It’s a really, really special place, and it’s a really rare thing in this increasingly kind of atomized and isolating world.”
The closure is also a blow for labor organizers, and it hints of how tough such efforts will be in Brooklyn in the months ahead. Workers United, a national union which had helped organize the pizzeria’s workers, had scored another big win at the Starbucks in Park Slope in October 2024. But like Barboncino, the Park Slope Starbucks closed in January, with the company citing financial strains.
The ability of workers to flex their power seems to be fading rapidly as the Trump administration makes changes at the National Labor Relations Board and a cooling labor market suggests more unemployed people are available for companies to hire.
At Barboncino, owners and workers had been unable to agree on pay and other terms for more than a year. Similarly, they now disagree on the reason for the shop’s demise. Employees say the new owners failed to provide the quality and care that had cultivated a loyal following.
The owners say the business succumbed to the financial pressures common among small restaurateurs. On Instagramthey posted, “We believed in Barboncino’s long-term potential, but because of rising economic strains, diminished sales, and other industry-wide challenges, it is with great sadness that Barboncino must put out the oven-fire, and close the doors.”
Employees at the Crown Heights restaurant worked with Workers United to officially form a union in July of 2023, but negotiations stalled, and a contract was never signed between the owners and the union. The union represented the 32 hourly employees.
Becca Young, 28, a server at Barboncino and one of the lead contract negotiators, described negotiating as “a really drawn-out process.”
“They were willing to meet with us once a month, mostly,” Young said of the owners. “Except for when they were away vacationing in Capri, which was often.”
At their final negotiation meeting before the closure announcement, workers presented their economic proposals. The owners delayed responding until eventually announcing they were closing for good.
“Our community, one we have worked to preserve and improve, is being dismantled at the hands of absent owners that have repeatedly ignored our needs,” is written in an Instagram post by Barboncino Workers United, announcing the closure of the restaurant. “A union can’t salvage the damage done by incompetence, neglect and disregard.”
Most of the front-of-house staff worked part-time at the pizzeria and supplement their pay with other work. However, for many, Barboncino was their primary source of income.
Staff have started a GoFundMe to help staff that are in financial distress after losing their jobs. They have raised over $10,000.
Despite lacking a formal contract, the union was able to achieve some worker protections. One victory came when morning shifts were abruptly cut—a total of ten shifts. Initially, staff were given just a week-and-a-half notice, but after pressure from the union, management agreed to delay the major scheduling change to give workers a chance to find other work.
Another was the implementation of a step-by-step protocol to address incidents when a customer harasses an employee.
Barboncino was bought from its original owners by Jesse Shappell and Emma Walton in October 2022.
“I think they viewed the restaurant as an investment, and we viewed the restaurant as a home, and I think they couldn’t understand what they had bought,” Young said.
Lopez, who has been at Barboncino for six years, said that staff noticed business was lagging and customers were unhappy but felt ignored when they brought their concerns to the owners.
“They were just raising the prices, lowering quality, and we were like, people are complaining about the prices and the quality of the food,” Lopez said. “And they were absolutely ignoring us at every turn. They took no steps to, in any way, try to bring back business.”
