The fears of many Broome County pizza enthusiasts have been realized with word that the original Nirchi's Pizza shop on Endicott's North Side is not coming back.

The small neighborhood pizza place at 811 Pine Street closed suddenly last February with the owners offering a little hope that it might reopen at some point.

But those hopes were dashed Tuesday when WBNG reported that the shop will not be returning.

Company owner Patricia Nirchi five months ago said a "restructuring" was planned but acknowledged there was no guarantee the Pine Street shop would resume operations.

The birthplace of the Nirchi pizza empire started at the site as the Italian grocery store started selling slices to distinguish itself from similar nearby businesses.

Nirchi's fans in recent weeks had become increasingly alarmed about the future of the landmark store as they noted no renovations were being made to the property.

Although the Pine Street location is gone, several other Nirchi's Pizza franchise locations in Broome County are continuing to operate.

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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