Carved into the bustling business district of downtown New Rochelle, at a crossroads of preservation and development, the Terrones family of 4Bros Pizza continues to charge forward in the struggle to keep their small business alive. While the city the family grew up in continues to change and grow, the Terrones have not forgotten the community that shaped them—and now they have the power to give back.
“In six months, we went from only making pizzas one at a time on Sundays, driving them around to deliver all over the city, to signing the lease for the shop.”
The beloved brick-and-mortar’s story began with homemade pizza on Christmas in 2019. As the family made one pie after another out of middle brother William’s Ooni pizza oven, there was a universal and almost immediate response from the entire Terrones clan: What if we committed and did this as a business? The four brothers, who all at one point in their lives either worked at a pizza shop or studied under a pizza master, were enamored with the idea of feeding people. “We were making pizzas on my eldest brother Carlos’ terrace,” says Danny Terrones, one of the middle brothers and self-proclaimed chef de partie. “People were able to place orders with us through our Instagram, and it was nonstop. We were making everything from scratch—the yeast culture for the dough, hand-pulled mozzarella, plus using high-quality tomatoes for the sauce. We combined all of our knowledge to create the best possible product. In six months, we went from only making pizzas one at a time on Sundays and delivering them all over the city, to signing the lease for the shop.”
The pizza’s cult following beginnings are easy to understand once you enter the unassuming corner shop. Riding shotgun with every 4Bros slice is an audible crunch from the airy, flaky, not-too-chewy crust. Layered with a foundation of marinara that brings herbaceous flavors to the forefront, the bros have dubbed their style “Neo New York”—the new classic. And there is more beyond pizza—every sandwich has homemade bread, every salad uses fresh produce, and every detail is taken into consideration by a family who pooled the majority of their savings together in the middle of a pandemic to bring this business to life.
While the current economy isn’t easy on the lower and middle class, for anyone in the food business, the tough times are felt even harder. “I hate hearing people complain about the price of a slice, not because it’s annoying, but because I understand it. It’s hard to feed yourself, feed your family, and it’s something we’re feeling too,” says Danny. “The cost of ingredients has gone up significantly since we opened—in some situations, we don’t have a choice.” An affordable menu, second only to an impeccable product, was at the top of the Terrones family’s mind. Growing up with multiple children in a one-bedroom apartment and a work ethic driven by passion and necessity, the family was well aware of the healing power of food. “There was no option to fail,” says Danny. “We had made such a huge financial investment and put so much on the line for this. We were going to do it better than anyone else.”
Alongside the drive to be profitable, the family always maintained their ache to help their community members in need. They donated food to hospitals and first responders as New Rochelle became one of the county’s COVID hot spots; they’ve dropped off unsold pie to the local soup kitchen; and they’ve built 4Bros up as a place where the neighborhood can be together. But from their front row seat to a changing city, they began to watch that neighborhood struggle.
Knowing these difficulties firsthand, the Terrones family christened their latest promotion, “Monday Madness.” Opening the shop doors on the only day they were closed, Mondays at 4Bros are a love letter to the community that nurtured them, and in turn fostered the continuation of this dream. Slinging pies at 40% off (and dropping off everything that doesn’t sell to the local fire or police department), Monday Madness was the ideal opportunity to fill bellies that previously may not have had a warm meal. “It is so important to me, to all of us, that the shop has the chance to give people a sense of normalcy again,” says Mariella, Carlos’s wife.
“A family that normally couldn’t afford this can now sit in here and have a pizza together, a homemade meal, and they can feel good about doing it. It feeds our souls too.” She admits that sometimes, she can’t help but get involved from behind the counter. “The other day, a little boy came in with his friends who all had the money to purchase slices except for him,” she says. “As a mother, my heart is breaking, and I’m watching this child feel so disconnected. I threw a slice in the oven, called him over, and told him someone had forgotten to pick it up and he could have it if he wanted it. That small act changed this child’s entire demeanor—and for all I know, it could have been the only warm meal he’d eaten that day. That’s why bringing up the city around us is so important…because you really just never know.”
“I make it a point to talk to everyone. I ask everyone’s name. I want this to be a place where people know they’re being taken care of.”
For Danny, his connection starts the moment the door opens. “I make it a point to talk to everyone,” he says. “I ask everyone’s name. I want this to be a place where people know they’re being taken care of.”
The once traditional pizza shop menu has now blossomed into endless iterations of round and square pies, collaborations with other local food businesses, and even vegan options. Built on the backs of their own families, with spouses and kids donning aprons too, it’s the ground level of a legacy ready to thrive. “Our kids are being raised here,” says Mariella, the mother of three young children. “We have birthday parties here, family dinners here. All of this, at the end of the day, is to build something for them, and to teach them the value of hard work and caring for something other than yourself. We want them to understand the value of feeding people with something beyond food.”
