Vegan restaurant 3 Brothers Italian Kitchen closes in Albertson

For nearly a decade, the 3 Brothers chainlet of vegan pizzieria-slash-restaurants has seemed unstoppable. Now, the most recent location in the mini-empire has closed down after seven months.

3 Brothers Italian Kitchen opened on Willis Avenue in Albertson in April as a joint venture between Alban Estafa and Heskell Khozouri-Zadeh. It had 45 seats and, like its cousin restaurants, dual vegan and non-vegan menus whose plant-based twists on Italian classics included oyster-mushroom "calamari," seitan scarpariello and pizzas topped with melted cashew-based mozzarella. 

It was the fifth location of a loosely affiliated restaurant group that began in 2009, when chef Jay Astafa introduced plant-based dishes at his family’s Farmingdale restaurant, 3 Brothers Pizza Cafe. Locations followed in Copiague, Rockville Centre and Lynbrook, all still open.

Vegan eaters still have a few local spots to get their plant-based treats: About a mile away, on Hillside Avenue in Williston Park, is Sweet to Lick Vegan Bakery, and its adjacent supermarket, Sweet to Lick: The Market.