Cavendish & Ross closes in Massapequa Park
Massimo Fedozzi earned 3 1⁄2 stars when he was the executive chef of Pentimento in Stony Brook. Credit: Daniel Brennan
Cavendish & Ross, the Massapequa Park steakhouse, has closed after a rocky 18 months.
Soon after it opened in early 2015, the original chef, Anthony Citarella, was out, replaced by a few short-lived chefs. In April 2016, Massimo Fedozzi, who had earned 3 1⁄2 stars from Newsday for his cooking at both Pentimento in Stony Brook and Vero in Amityville (now closed), came aboard.
Wanting to take advantage of Fedozzi’s skills, the restaurant added some Italian dishes to the menu, rebranded itself an “Italian Chophouse,” and began an interior renovation during which it planned to stay open.
The plans have changed. Fedozzi, who is now a partner with original owner Robert Saba, said that the two men decided to make a clean break with the past. “First of all,” he said, “it was impossible to really renovate while we remained open.” He also noted that “everybody was confused — is this a steakhouse or an Italian restaurant?”
Taking Cavendish & Ross’s place will be an entirely new concept: an Italian restaurant called Tra’mici, Italian for “among friends,” and Fedozzi hopes that it will indeed be a friendly neighborhood spot. The menu is a work in progress, but everywhere the chef goes, platters of salumi and bowls of homemade pasta follow. He hopes to open by September.
