When it comes to eating a good slice of pizza, some folks opt for a rustic brick oven, or maybe an authentic wood-fired sear. At Lucky Charlie, a new restaurant in Bushwick, Chef Nino Coniglio says having one of the oldest coal ovens in America gives his pizza a new edge.
“I own 12 pizzerias, no matter what I do… I can't make pizzas like I can make in here,” said Coniglio. With just a few rakes of coal, an over-century-old oven is able to go from 100 to 650 Fahrenheit in less than three minutes, establishing blistering blue flames, making his pizza delicately toasted in the middle while creating a perfect crispy crust.
Located at 254 Irving Ave., near the Knickerbocker M train station, finding a coal oven from 1890 was merely a happenstance. The oven, discovered in 2002, was originally part of Verde Coal Oven, which was owned by friend and landlord Charlie Verde, whom the new restaurant is partially named after.
“My son, Dino, made his first pie here when he was two-and-a-half-years-old,” said Coniglio, who previously worked at Verde Coal Oven before pursuing his restaurateur empire.
The oven is built into the foundation of the building and was used by a bakery in the early 1900s. Now in 2025, Coniglio, a native of Gravesend, has revitalized the storefront with his heavy Italian roots.
The team transformed Lucky Charlie with deep reds, browns and greens, dropping a bit of old-school Little Italy back into Brooklyn. Reminiscent of old prohibition bars, the design connects well with Coniglio’s "everyone is famiglia" persona.
On the back of the restaurant’s menu’s reads, “Everything on the menu is meant to be shared amongst your table, or shared with the table next to you,” quickly painting the Sicilian ethos Coniglio has created amongst family, friends and strangers.
Unlike other restaurants that pull you in with a catchy gimmick, Lucky Charlie stays true to their word; all hot food is cooked in the coal oven, there is no stove.
You’d think this concept would create a challenge, but the culinary expertise of an award winning chef would say otherwise, delivering innovative family-style dishes like anelletti (a type of baked pasta), clams casino, and of course, pizza.
Cocktails remain simple and homey, yet innovate classic motifs like a Coca-Cola espresso martini designed by bartender Rob Hoffman. Straying from what seems like every restaurant in the city, Lucky Charlie shuns using Aperol and Campari to instead highlight spirits from Gruppo Caffo, an Italian distillery, as well as other Brooklyn-based distilleries for their gin selections.
“When I was a kid, I used to say, I'm ‘Italian American’. Then I went to Italy, and I was like, we're our own thing. I'm Brooklyarino Italiano,” said Coniglio.
Unlike his other reputable establishments, Coniglio wants Lucky Charlie to deliver a bit more of a party atmosphere after the sun goes down and the street lamps light up. “I’m getting older,” he told BK Reader, saying he wanted to channel a bit of his dive bar expertise.
“If you want an awesome cocktail, you can get it, and it's not coming out of the gun, but if you want a beer and a shot, I'll give it to you for five to eight dollars,” he said.
Coniglio said he is planning to open another coal oven spot in late 2025 or early 2026 in Williamsburg. Unlike the quaint 42-seat Lucky Charlie, the spot will be a vastly larger space with around 230 seats.
Lucky Charlie, at 254 Irving Ave., is open from Wednesday through Sunday from 5:00pm to 4:00am, with a limited menu after midnight.
