Vincenzo's Pizzeria of Levittown closing

Vincenzo's Pizzeria of Levittown is the latest neighborhood Italian spot on Long Island to announce it's closing. The slice shop at 638 Wantagh Ave., in Levittown, plans to sell its last pie this Halloween, says co-owner Garrett Klein. The store will stay open until 2 a.m. or until they sell out. 

Klein is a lifelong pizza industry veteran who opened the shop with his fiancée in 2018. As soon as he could drive, he started delivering pizzas at 17. And he continued to moonlight as a recipe developer for local pizza shops, even when he was working as a mental health counselor. Eventually, he wanted to make a change and go fully into the pizza business, so he opened the shop in his hometown and focused on community events with nearby schools. 

"I tried to do whatever we could to be part of the community," Klein said. "So it was kind of just like second nature for me to help as much as I could with local sports, schools, fundraisers, to give back through fundraising." 

Many of the people working the pizzeria were his close family and friends, so Klein said he didn't have problems with staffing the shop. But he and his fiancée had a child in December of last year, and he wanted more time for his family. 

"Being away from him for 12 to 15 hours a day, it was starting to get to me a little bit too much," he said about his son. "I felt, as he got older I’d start missing more things. I’m probably going to work in another pizzeria, but I knew I couldn’t be here and have to be there fully, it was splitting my mind." 

Klein announced the sale of his pizzeria on Instagram this week, and dozens of supporters flooded the comments giving their thanks. 

Vincenzo's Pizzeria of Levittown, 638 Wantagh Ave., Levittown, 516-597-4415, vincenzosoflevittown.com. Open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday.

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.com

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.