The Pizzeria To Open Third Location In Islip

ISLIP, NY — The Pizzeria will be opening its third Long Island location in Islip this spring. The business, which has two locations 606 Montauk Highway in Bayport and at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.

In less than a year, 39-year-old Cliff Weinstein, 38-year-old Paul Saccoccio, and 34-year-old and Dan Saccoccio, expanded the business in less than a year after opening the first location in 2020.

The Bayport location opened shortly after in December 2020 and now, its third location on 591 Main Street is slated to open May 1. The location was previously home to Pizza Parm.

"Pizza has been the shining light in the pandemic along with other restaurants that focus heavily on take-out and delivery," Weinstein stated.

Paul's family has owned Gino's Ronkonkoma for over 40 years. Weinstein and the Saccoccios have been friends for over 20 years. Cliff comes from the finance and tech world, selling his last company to private equity in 2019, and Dan was in finance prior to co-founding The Pizzeria.

"We believe the most unique aspect has been our ability to open two locations during the pandemic with Islip opening in a month along with signing a lease and starting the construction process on a fourth location," Weinstein stated. "We are proud to open during uncertain times and provide careers to our employees while serving great food to the communities we serve in a friendly and affordable manner."

The menu for the eatery includes 15 specialty pies, starters, heroes, pastas, dinners, and, some desserts.

"We have been discussing opening up smaller footprint pizzerias for years. Our first opportunity was the Smith Haven Mall and we jumped at the opportunity," Weinstein told Patch. "We are foodies and pizza fanatics and believe that there is a need to for a new refreshing take on pizza as well as the design of our locations."

Weinstein, who is an East Islip native, also enjoyed the opportunity to open his latest business near the town he grew up in.

"Islip has become a bustling downtown destination that has limited pizza shops or slice shops," he stated. "Growing up in East Islip and talking to locals, we felt the demand would be there to bring our brand and style to Main Street Islip. Islip reminds us of Bayport...both are tight-knit, supportive of small business and express overwhelming support for us after opening or during the opening process."

In fact, all three men met in East Islip over 30 years ago — while playing soccer as kids.

"Our first memorable encounter was a heated wiffle ball game at a Brick, NJ annual soccer tournament," Weinstein stated. "The East Islip Red Devils crushed the Sachem Thunderbirds in both wiffle ball and in soccer."