Gino's Pizzeria & Ristorante of Williston Park closing after 47 years, with family having connection to new owners

A family-run Williston Park pizzeria will change hands this month after almost 50 years in business, with the longtime owners passing it onto new ones who had a fateful connection.

In a message posted on social media, members of the Speciale family said Gino’s Pizzeria & Ristorante of Williston Park will close on Feb. 22 after 47 years of operation with new owners taking over on Feb. 23 — though the restaurant will briefly close, likely until April, for renovations.

"We wish we could have made it to the 50-year mark. What we built over these 47 years is something we are truly proud of and grateful for," Frank, Josephine, Gerry and Giovanni Speciale said in the message.

Incredibly, the new owners, Vin and Vin — that'd be Vincenzo de Lucia and Vincent Lombardo — have a strange connection to Gino's.

Both de Lucia and Lombardo grew up in East Meadow and since just weeks before the pandemic hit have operated Enzo's on New Hyde Park Road in Garden City; de Lucia as owner, Lombardo as his manager. The two will now co-own the Gino's location, which de Lucia said will be rebranded as Enzo's of Williston Park.

Though he lived in East Meadow, de Lucia attended the St. Aidan School in Williston Park through eighth grade. And, coincidentally he not only used to get pizza at Gino's as a kid, but de Lucia said the same pizza maker who taught Frank Speciale the business turned out to be the father of Jerry Pizzuto, the former business partner of de Lucia's uncle Frank de Lucia at two longstanding pizza places in Long Beach.

It was at those stores where Vin de Lucia also learned the business — de Lucia and his uncle Frank learning from Pizzuto.

"It's a crazy story," de Lucia said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I mean, it was Jerry's father Carmelo who taught Frank [Speciale] ... And that means our recipes have always been close — in fact, their style of chicken rolls is like 90% how we do ours — and how can you figure that, right?"

As Lombardo said: "Weirdly, it's just all intertwined."

No wonder the Speciale family post about selling Gino's to de Lucia and Lombardo said they are "proud to pass the torch to someone we trust."

The Speciale family shared how their parents, Frank and Josephine, opened the doors of the pizzeria on Willis Avenue in 1979 to build an honest business, make good pizza and create something meaningful.

"What began as a simple pizzeria slowly grew into something far greater than food," the post said. "This was never just a business. It was our family’s life — our days, our nights, our memories, our home."

The restaurant had been reviewed by numerous outlets over the years, including by Newsday and Barstool Pizza's Dave Portnoy in 2024. 

"From our family to yours — thank you for 47 unforgettable years," the family said in the post. "Though this chapter comes to a close, what it gave us will always remain. Every slice had a story. Thank you for being part of ours."