Andrew Thierry Bellucci was born on January 21, 1964, in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Andrew Bellucci was a one-of-a-kind character and some would call a Pizza Genius. A true icon in the Pizza world who not only loved to make Pizza and Italian American food, but he obsessed over his recipes and more importantly his dough. The vessel for his selection of the finest ingredients he could offer. He never compromised with his pies, and he offered traditional NYC not old-fashioned pizza. He loved to tell stories about his childhood and his heritage and his passion - pizza. His mother was born in France, and his father was Italian American and his food although Italian American by style had French techniques originally taught to him by his mother. Later in life he worked at two different Michelin rated restaurants in France, and all his current recipes were always inspired from those experiences. From the sourcing of materials to their combination, you could taste the French influence. He always wanted his dough to have similar characteristics to a beautiful crusty peasant bread.

After his culinary experiences in France, he returned to NYC and landed in the vibrant East Village; working and consulting at NYC's great pizzerias of the time, the original Two Boots on Avenue A, Three of Cups on 1st Avenue and 5th Street, and the legendary Joe's Pizza at which he consulted on expanding their empire outside of NY. Andrew Bellucci honed his craft with a deep passion for the rich history of pizza. Andrew had a true obsession with recreating the original New York City Style Pizza. It seems that Pizza had never achieved the spotlight it deserved, and when the original 100-year-old Lombardi’s closed in the late eighties, it was Andrew who shed tears. His quest to unravel the roots of New York's pizza-making heritage led him to the Naples immigrant, Gennaro Lombardi. Inspired by this discovery, Bellucci revived a dormant coal oven in Little Italy, securing the endorsement of Lombardi's grandson to establish a pizzeria carrying the family name—thus giving birth to the second iteration of Lombardi's Pizzeria. He brought it back to life in the nineties and helped revive what NYC PIZZA was all about. Way before there were influencers and content creators, people flocked to taste his pizza at Lombardi’s. He even inspired an up-and-coming director to film his every move at Lombardi’s and proclaim him the best Pizza in NYC at the time, as did the NY Times and many critics and foodies alike. His desire to use only the finest and fresh ingredients, coupled with an obsession with his dough would later inspire a generation of chefs to come, including some of the top pizzerias in NYC today!