Big Apple Pizza

Big Apple Pizza is an Israeli pizza chain founded in Jerusalem in 1986 by Haim Kedem. The brand was created after Kedem returned from many years in New York City and sought to reproduce what he viewed as a distinctive New York pizza experience in Israel. Its signature style is associated with a thin crust and a casual, fast-service format. The original location opened in the Jerusalem mall known as Dorot Rishonim, establishing the chain in one of the city's central commercial areas. The business expanded beyond Jerusalem in 1996, when Kedem opened a location in Eilat. This marked the chain's first move outside the Jerusalem area and began its development as a multi-city Israeli restaurant business. After Kedem died in 2000, ownership and management passed to his two sons, who continued operating the chain. Their stewardship preserved the family-owned character of the business while allowing it to maintain a presence in multiple Israeli communities. Big Apple Pizza's brand identity is built around an American urban theme rather than a purely Italian restaurant concept. Its restaurants are designed to evoke New York City, with café-style table arrangements, city photographs, and American license plates used as interior decoration. The name itself reinforces this positioning by linking the chain to New York's nickname, “the Big Apple.” This visual and thematic approach gives the restaurants a recognizable setting and connects the product with the cultural image of New York-style pizza. The chain's offering centers on pizza, particularly thin-crust pizza in a New York-inspired style. Big Apple Pizza operates as a kosher restaurant chain, and all of its locations are kosher, including its Eilat branch. The six Jerusalem branches hold Rabbanut Yerushalayim Mehadrin certification according to the referenced material. As of April 2025, the chain had 11 branches in Israel, located in Jerusalem, Modi'in, Gush Etzion, Eilat, Mevaseret Zion, and Beit Shemesh. The Jerusalem network includes branches in the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, Beit Hakerem, Katamon, Gilo, Ramat Eshkol, and Givat Shaul, with additional locations at Azrieli Modi'in Mall, Gush Etzion, Eilat, Mevaseret Zion, and Beit Shemesh. The brand has also appeared in a public diplomatic and cultural context. During a 2014 visit to Israel connected with Operation Protective Edge, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met with New York students studying in Israel at a Big Apple Pizza location. The event reflected the restaurant's New York-oriented identity and its familiarity among English-speaking and American-linked communities in Israel. Big Apple Pizza remains an active domestic Israeli restaurant brand, with its identity grounded in kosher service, family continuity, thin-crust pizza, and a New York-themed dining environment.

Big Apple Pizza was established in Jerusalem in 1986 by Haim Kedem. Kedem had spent many years in New York City before returning to Israel, and the restaurant concept was intended to bring an element of New York's pizza culture to the Israeli market. The first shop opened in the Jerusalem mall Dorot Rishonim. From the beginning, the brand's product identity centered on thin-crust pizza prepared in a style associated with New York rather than on a traditional Italian trattoria format. The restaurant's physical design became an important part of its identity. Big Apple Pizza locations were arranged to suggest a New York café or urban pizzeria, using photographs of New York City and American license plates as décor. This created a consistent themed environment that supported the brand name and distinguished the chain from less concept-driven pizza restaurants. In 1996, the business expanded beyond Jerusalem for the first time with the opening of a shop in Eilat. The move broadened the chain's geographic reach and demonstrated that its New York-inspired pizza concept could operate outside the capital. In 2000, Haim Kedem died. The business then passed to his two sons, who continued to run it. Their identities are not specified in the cited reference, so they are recorded here only as unnamed family operators. Big Apple Pizza developed as a kosher Israeli restaurant chain. All of its locations are kosher, including the Eilat branch, despite Eilat's generally more secular character. The six Jerusalem locations are described as holding Rabbanut Yerushalayim Mehadrin certification. This kosher positioning enables the chain to serve observant customers while retaining its casual, American-themed presentation. By April 2025, Big Apple Pizza had 11 locations. Six were in Jerusalem: the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, Beit Hakerem, Katamon, Gilo, Ramat Eshkol, and Givat Shaul. Other branches were located at Azrieli Modi'in Mall, Gush Etzion, Eilat, Mevaseret Zion, and Beit Shemesh. The available reference material does not identify a separate parent corporation, public listing, official website, financial results, or named current executives beyond the founders' two sons. The chain also received incidental public attention in August 2014, when former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo visited Israel and met New York students studying there at a Big Apple Pizza location. The meeting connected the restaurant's New York imagery with a real New York-linked public event. Big Apple Pizza's documented history therefore combines a Jerusalem origin, expansion into other Israeli markets, family succession, kosher operations, and a persistent New York-inspired restaurant concept.

1. 2025Chain reported with 11 branches

   As of April 2025, Big Apple Pizza had 11 branches across Israel.

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2. 2014Andrew Cuomo visits a Big Apple Pizza location

   During a visit to Israel connected with Operation Protective Edge, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met New York students studying in Israel at the chain.

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3. 2000Family succession after the founder's death

   After Haim Kedem died, his two sons took over operation of the business.

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4. 1996First expansion outside Jerusalem

   The chain opened its first location outside Jerusalem in Eilat.

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5. 1986First Big Apple Pizza shop opens in Jerusalem

   Haim Kedem founded Big Apple Pizza in the Jerusalem mall Dorot Rishonim, introducing a New York-inspired thin-crust pizza concept.

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Kosher casual dining and pizza service with a New York City-inspired atmosphere.

• New York-style thin-crust pizzaPizza1986

  The chain's core product is thin-crust pizza presented as an Israeli interpretation of the New York pizza experience. The style reflects founder Haim Kedem's years in New York City and is central to the brand's name, restaurant design, and positioning.

• Kosher pizza mealsCasual dining

  Big Apple Pizza operates its locations as kosher restaurants, providing pizza-centered casual dining for Israeli customers. The chain's six Jerusalem branches are described as Rabbanut Yerushalayim Mehadrin, while all locations, including Eilat, are kosher.

• 2000Transfer of the business to the founder's sonsOther

  Haim Kedem died after founding and expanding the chain.

  What changed. Ownership and operation passed to Kedem's two sons.

  Aftermath. The chain continued under family management; the sons' names are not provided in the cited material.

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• 1996Expansion from Jerusalem to EilatStrategy

  After operating in Jerusalem for a decade, the chain sought to extend its New York-inspired pizza concept to another Israeli market.

  What changed. Haim Kedem opened the first Big Apple Pizza branch outside Jerusalem in Eilat.

  Aftermath. The move established the chain as a multi-city Israeli restaurant business.

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• 2025Big Apple Pizza reported with 11 Israeli branches

  As of April 2025, the chain was reported to operate 11 branches across Jerusalem and several other Israeli cities and communities.

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• 2014Andrew Cuomo met New York students at Big Apple Pizza during Israel visit

  During a visit to Israel associated with support for the country during Operation Protective Edge, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met with students from New York studying in Israel at a Big Apple Pizza restaurant.

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1. Big Apple Pizza