Long Beach Sandwich Company will be closed for about a month after fire, owner says

One day after a fire damaged the kitchen of a Long Beach deli and an apartment in the two-story brick building that houses it, one of the shop owners said the business likely will be closed for a month for repairs — but that he and his family were grateful the situation wasn’t worse.

"We got very lucky," Frank Monteforte, of the Long Beach Sandwich Company, told Newsday on Monday. "Nobody was hurt. We’ll recover. We’re just thankful for that."

Authorities said the fire broke out in the kitchen at the sandwich shop at 801 W. Beech St. around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday. They said one firefighter suffered a hand injury while battling the blaze.

About 70 firefighters responded to the scene, at the intersection with New York Avenue, according to Nassau County's assistant chief fire marshal Andrew G. Schmitt Jr. The fire was brought under control in 45 minutes, Schmitt said. The injured firefighter was treated at the scene, according to Schmitt.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

On Monday, Monteforte said the deli was open when the fire broke out. He said he suspects the cause to have been a grease fire.

"The fire department was very responsive, the police department was very responsive, and the damage was limited to the kitchen and an apartment upstairs, so all we can say is thank God it wasn’t worse," Monteforte said. "But we’re definitely not open right now. There’s extensive damage to the kitchen. ... We’ll probably be shut down about a month."

Monteforte runs the shop with his brother Dan, of Atlantic Beach, and his father, Frank Sr. He said the deli has been open for eight years.

"We’re open seven days a week," Monteforte said, noting that usually the deli is closed only for Christmas and Easter. "So, hopefully, things will go smooth with the insurance and permits and we won’t be closed down too long. ... Hearing what happened, people have been calling, stopping by and expressing concerns. We’ve had a lot of well-wishers.

"The people down here are great," he said. "Long Beach is a tight-knit community — and, that counts for a lot."

Newsday's Janon Fisher contributed to this story.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.