Guide: Italian markets on Long Island for sausages, imports

The foods of Italy have enduring pride of place in the kitchens and on the tables of many Long Islanders. That makes perfect sense: A quarter of the population claims Italian heritage, and the ready availability of sausages both sweet and hot as well as real Parmigiano-Reggiano is seen as a birthright. This is made possible in large part by modern-day Italian speciality foods shops. They have their roots in the salumeria — a place that carries cured pork products such as salami, prosciutto and mortadella, hence the old-fashioned moniker "pork store" —  but you'll also find fresh mozzarella and burrata; imported pastas, canned tomatoes, beans and kitchen tools from Italy; and much, more more. Mangia!

NASSAU

A&S PORK STORE

929 N. Broadway, Massapequa, 516-799-4332, asporkstoremassapequa.com

None of the five Long Island A&S shops (Oceanside, Merrick, Massapequa, Huntington Station and East Islip) shares ownership, but all descend from the original A&S founded in 1948 in Brooklyn by Anthony Scicchitano. This, the first (established in 1967 by Pasquale Giammarino) makes its own sausage, mozzarella, pasta and sauce; butchers fresh meat; and retails Italian imports. Co-owner Sam Cataldo started working at A&S in 1984, the year before he married Emily, the boss’s daughter. In 2019, Sam and Emily started something new: Neapolitan pizza in the form of Saverio’s Wood-fired Pizza.

CERIELLO FINE FOODS

541 Willis Ave., Williston Park, 516-747-0277, ceriellofinefoods.com

Founder Andrea Ceriello emigrated from Italy in 1970 and ran the store (once an A&S) from 1980 until he died in 2022. Lamenting the smaller, leaner standard American pigs, he began to deal only with Berkshire pork and started a factory, Licini Brothers of Union City, New Jersey, to produce sausages, pancetta and guanciale to his own exacting standards. In 1990 came a line of pasta sauces, and he was one of the first on the Island to stock bronze-die pasta from Italy. Ceriello's daughter, Tina, carries on her father’s legacy.

IAVARONE BROS.

1538 Union Tpke., New Hyde Park, 516-488-5600, ibfoods.com

Founder Pasquale Iavarone opened his first pork store, P. Iavarone, in Brooklyn in 1927. His sons, Joseph and Jerry, expanded what is now Iavarone Bros. into Queens and the third generation (and now, a fourth) have continued the work of establishing a Long Island chain. In addition to Italian imports, prepared foods and Iavarone-made sausages, there’s fresh fish and produce. (Other locations: Garden City, Wantagh, Woodbury).

RAZZANO’S

286 Glen St., Glen Cove, 516-676-3745, razzanosny.com

Five years after Agostino Razzano opened it in 1963, Vincent Condello, newly arrived from Calabria, bought it with two now-former partners. Over the next five decades, the store evolved into an Italian palace of wonders that contains canned tomatoes, oils and vinegars, coffee, candy, flour, nuts and more than 25 brands of pasta. From the kitchen issue Italian entrees, vegetables, salads, hero sandwiches. The deli counter boasts imported cheeses, prosciutto, mortadella, pancetta, salami and guanciale as well as the store’s own stubby sopressata and wandlike salsicce.

SALPINO

3457 Merrick Rd., Wantagh, 516-221-1100, theoriginalsalpino.com

Joseph “Pino” Barbieri opened this Wantagh pork store in 1985 with a classic lineup of freshly butchered meats, fresh and dried sausages, fresh mozzarella, imported groceries and a deli menu. A larger store in North Babylon (38 Deer Shore Square; 631-242-5500) followed in 2003 and 2025 saw the opening of Pino’s in Dix Hills (683 Old Country Rd.; 631-916-4437), with the heart of a pork store but the size (five times that of the original location) of a full-service market. The Salpino’s in North Bellmore is no longer affiliated with the Barbieri family.

SORRENTO’S

768 W. Beech St., Long Beach, 516-962-9635, sorrentosoflb.com

This butcher shop and Italian market opened in 1999 at 54 W. Park Ave. and, in 2010, installed a wood-burning oven and took over an adjacent storefront. A fire destroyed the operation in 2019 but two years later owners Steve Cianciotto and Anthony Alesia moved about a mile and a half west to the current space. Fresh meat, homemade sausages, prepared foods, imported groceries and excellent pizza all made the trip, and in 2023 Sorrento’s expanded again with Caffe Sorrento, just next door.

T&F PORK STORE

928 Hempstead Tpke., Franklin Square, 516-354-7620, Instagram @tfporkstore

Could there be higher praise for T&F’s fresh mozzarella than that it’s used at King Umberto pizzeria down the road? Since 1970, the Carlino family has been serving up fresh meats, sausages, prepared foods, imported groceries (get your Italian soda here), gift baskets and heroes.

SUFFOLK

DEL FIORE ITALIAN MARKET

39 Broadway, Rocky Point, 631-744-0398, delfioreitalianmarket.com

Salvatore D’Elia opened Del Fiore in 1974, and around 1995 daughters Camille Pabon and Lorian Prince formally took over the business from their father. There are dried sweet and hot pork sausages, fresh pork sausages, chicken and lamb varieties for those who refrain from (or tire of) pork. Del Fiore makes its own ravioli and manicotti; stuffed shells, mushrooms and peppers; sauces and fresh mozzarella. Italian imports range from cheeses and olive oils to playing cards, aprons and espresso cups.

DELFIORE ITALIAN PORK STORE

51 N. Ocean Ave., Patchogue, 631-475-6080, delfioreporkstore.com

Delfiore, one of Eastern Suffolk’s salumi pioneers, was founded on South Ocean Avenue in 1971 by brothers Salvatore and Felice D’Elia with their brother-in-law Carmine Galeotafiore. Three years later, Salvatore opened Del Fiore in Rocky Point (see above) and the Patchogue store moved to its present location in 1985. Here’s where to buy your pork skin and marrow bones. There are homemade sausages, sauces, soups, entrées, homemade fresh pasta and imported dried pastas (look for the Cav. Giuseppe Cocco brand from Abruzzo) as well.

FRANK & MARIA’S

10 W. Main St., Bay Shore, 631-665-0047, frankandmarias.com

Frank, Maria and Dominick Salvaggio opened this South Shore stalwart in 2006; in 2012 it took over the adjoining storefront. There’s an abundance of prepared foods, cheeses and sausages; imported items include cans of Cuoco brand condimento per macaroni con sarde, a shortcut to Sicilian pasta with sardines. The Salvaggios import unfiltered, extra-virgin oil from Caltabellotta, a town not far from Agrigento, their ancestral home in Sicily. The olives are harvested in November, and, early the next year, the pungent, green new oil (novello) makes its way to Bay Shore. It’s sold in refillable 750-ml bottles.

GEMELLI FINE FOODS

115 E. Main St., Babylon, 631-321-4515, gemellis.com

Gelsomina Cosentino emigrated from Italy in 1969 and in 1988 opened a small Italian market in Babylon. In today’s much larger incarnation, you can expect a (renowned) lasagna along with eggplant caponata and rollatini, meatballs, pork or beef braciole, brick-oven pizzas, fresh sausage, hero sandwiches and much more. Cosentino’s daughter, Patricia Schutz, and her family opened the full-service Gemelli Gourmet Market North (716 Glen Cove Ave., Glen Head; 516-200-9746; gemelligourmetmarketnorth.com) in 2016 and the grab-and-go Gemelli’s Gourmet (189 S. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst; 631-592-4363; gemellisgourmetli.com) in 2025.

LOMBARDI’S LOVE LANE MARKET

170 Love Lane, Mattituck, 631-298-9500, lombardislovelanemarket.com

In 2014, Lauren Lombardi, scion of Suffolk’s Holbrook-based Lombardi family (Mamma Lombardi’s restaurant, Villa Lombardi catering venue and Lombardi’s Market) took over the former Love Lane Market and turned it into a bustling grocery-butcher-specialty shop. Here is where you’ll find Cav. Guiseppe Cocco artisanal pastas, Delverde no-boil lasagna sheets, ethereal ricotta from Arthur Avenue, rotisserie chickens, a small steam table, sausages, sandwiches, always-fresh mixed olives and chicken salad and more. In Holbrook (1055 Main St.; 631-737-8470; lombardismarket.com), you can shop for meat and produce, pick up a prepared meal, and/or enjoy a panino, pizza or espresso at a cafe table.

MR. SAUSAGE

3 Union Pl., Huntington, 631-271-3836, baldanzafinefoods.com

In 1988, Calabrian immigrants Sal Baldanza and his brothers, Rocco, Alberto and Joe, bought the German pork store Mr. Sausage in Hicksville. Over the next two decades, Mr. Sausage closed in Hicksville and moved to Huntington village. In 2010 Baldanza started making fresh pasta and eventually installed a pasta-making station in full view.

SAPORI DEL VALLO

111 Milbar Blvd., Farmingdale, 631-242-8900, saporidelvallo.com

This place doesn’t have a sign out front — just look for the Italian flag. Originally an import business owned by Dominic Biancomano and his son, Carmine, Sapori del Vallo took its name from the brand of fresh pasta it brings in from Campania. Dominic died earlier this year, but not before seeing the small retail market achieve cult status, partly because of the adjacent eatery, Dom’s, which serves wood-oven pizza and homestyle cooking. In addition to the market’s range of fresh pasta, there’s a great selection of dried pasta (try the Caterina brand), olive oils, herbs, cookies, coffee, salumi, aged cheeses and household items, plus fresh mozzarella and bread made on the premises.