Paulie's Pizzeria opens in Huntington Station

It’s been a busy month for Paul Hansen. While readying the resurrected Burger Haven in Huntington Village, he was also putting the finishing touches on a new pizzeria about two miles south in Huntington Station. It was anyone’s guess which one would open first but Paulie’s Pizzeria, which opened Aug. 15, beat Burger Haven by a few days. 

The fates of the two establishments are intertwined: The freestanding building on Pulaski Road was the original Conte’s Burger Haven from 1961 to 2008. Its next owner was Mark Salese, who ran Marco’s pizzeria until earlier this year. Hansen and his partners bought the building two years ago because they liked the location, the layout and the parking. "Our philosophy, " he said, "is to buy the real estate and then figure out what to put there."

Their initial idea for the property was Peruvian chicken. Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken features on the menu at their six Cactus Cafe locations, and the bird also stars at The Coop, their Nashville-themed bar-eatery in Farmingdale, as it did at the now-closed Kick’N Chicken, the sliver of a Huntington eatery they have transformed into Burger Haven.

But they could not resist the allure of pizza. One of Hansen’s partners "geeked out" with dough, falling deep down the rabbit hole of preferments and high hydration and, eventually, reaching out to consulting pizzaiolo Girolamo "Mommo" Maniscalchi (aka the Pizza Peddler) for advice. Then there were the huge fig trees that Salese had planted along one side of the parking lot that seemed to whisper "pizza."

The idea began to take shape. Hansen said the team’s goal was "to create a circa-1979-era New York City pizzeria, with a thin and crispy pie, quality ingredients and everything homemade." They recruited Jeff Knox (who used to own Village Pizza in Sea Cliff) and Joe Competiello, an Italian fine-dining veteran from Queens (who has plans for those figs when they ripen: roasted-fig crostini with prosciutto and balsamic glaze).

The finished menu is a classic combo of round pies ($19 to $26), square pies (Sicilian, Grandma and more, $22 to $27), chopped salads served in a large bowl ($12 to $18) or an individual homemade dough "pocket" ($9 to $15), heroes ($12 to $18), baked pastas ($18), pastas ($17 to $19, gluten-free available), Parm-Francese-Marsala dinners served over pasta ($21 to $25) and traditional starters and sides. A regular slice is $3.50. During weekday lunch, get two regular slices and a soda for $7, a hero and soda for $12.

Adjacent to the counter, Paulie's dining room is attractively furnished with tables (draped with red-and-white-checked cloths) and comfortable chairs. 

Paulie’s Pizzeria, 76 E. Pulaski Rd., Huntington Station, 631-629-4935, pauliespizzeria.com. Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.