Huntington's 1653 Pizza Company and Rust & Gold close

Two mainstays of the Huntington Village hospitality scene — The Rust & Gold sports bar and 1653 Pizza Company — have closed. The two venues share ownership and, in March, they went on the market for $1.2 million. Frank Antonetti, a partner in both businesses, said that "both restaurants are closed while we finalize a sale." 

The Rust & Gold opened in 2016 and established itself as a sports bar where the vibe, the drinks and the food were a cut above. In 2021, the group took over the former Massa’s pizzeria along the same strip and transformed it into 1653 Pizza Company, named for the year that the Matinecock Indians sold what became Huntington to three English settlers from Oyster Bay. Antonetti, an accomplished bartender, made 1653 a destination for craft cocktails. Initially, 1653’s pizzaiolo-partner, Michael Vigliotti, worked with the coal-burning oven that Massa's had left behind; eventually, he replaced it with a wood-burning oven. In 2024, he left the restaurant.

When the venues’ broker publicized their availability in March, some local chatter questioned the advisability of operating a business whose workers knew it was for sale. It’s not clear whether that, or the difficulty of finding a buyer or the need for physical work on the properties — or none of the above or all of the above — were responsible for the closures. Antonetti offered no details beyond confirming them. Whether 1653 and Rust & Gold will ultimately be transformed into new concepts, or operate as the same concepts under new ownership, is unknown at this point.

He has been vocal about the challenges of doing business in the village. "Huntington has always been a hot spot that attracts the fast money," he told Newsday last year, "and an over-served market starts consuming itself."