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Former Five Roses Owner-Pizzawoman Now Making Pizza on the Beach in Jamaica

Posted by Adam Kuban, August 21, 2009 at 1:40 PM

It was charming, sure, but wouldn't you rather eat Five Roses pizza on the beach in sunny Jamaica? Photograph by Adam Kuban

That's Jamaica the country, not Jamaica, Queens. Jeremiah's Vanishing New York reports that former Five Roses owner-pizzawoman Krystyna is now semiretired in the island nation, working at a sports bar called 23/7:

I called 23/7 in Negril and spoke to co-owner John Maire, who confirmed the rumor. John lived in the East Village most of his life. He ate at the 5 Rose's for 20 years and even delivered pizzas for Krystyna. She cooked for his wedding. With the neighborhood turned to "bullshit," John got out. He brought Krystyna with him, convincing her that the beaches of Negril were a lot warmer than Poland.

John says the pizza is still excellent and made with yeast he brings down from Moishe's Bakery on Second Avenue. And Krystyna is happy. She got on the phone with me and said, "Jamaica is better for me. I love it here. Not like New York—forget it, Honey!"

The popular East Village pizzeria closed in late November 2008, a victim of rising rent. Krystyna (whose last name no one seems to know) vowed to reopen in the East Village after a visit to her native Poland, but it looks some R&R on the beach changed her mind.

23/7

Norman Manley Boulevard, Negril, Jamaica
876-957-9647; 23-7.com

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Tags: 23-7, Five Roses, Jamaica, Negril