By Mike White 🇺🇸 March 10, 2026

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☕ Good morning, Long Island!

🌯 🍟 Welcome to the first-ever foodie fun GLI newsletter.

⤵️ We’ve got a ton of restaurant openings, reboots and tasty news — and only tasty news — from across Long Island.

✍🏼 Feel free to respond to this email with feedback!

Weather: It'll be mostly cloudy but balmy today with a high near 64.

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MEET OUR SUPPORTERS

Toast Coffee + Kitchen is a beloved Long Island brunch spot known for creative breakfast dishes, great coffee and a vibe to match. Find them in Patchogue, Port Jefferson Station, Bay Shore, Long Beach and Ronkonkoma. Click here to visit their website.

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1. Del Fuego in Babylon to reopen as Tejanos Tex-Mex Cantina this spring

🌮 This longtime Babylon Tex-Mex staple is getting a reboot. After closing March 15 for renovations, the restaurant will return in April as Tejanos Tex-Mex Cantina — a new concept from owner Leo DeNicola and his son that promises a refreshed menu, margarita-heavy cocktail program and a redesigned space. (The other Del Fuego locations will not change.)

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2. Boutique café chain Pilar Coffee Bar brewing up three Long Island locations

☕ Steve Giordanella is bringing the fast-growing Pilar Coffee Bar brand from Florida to Long Island, starting with Roslyn. Two more locations are planned in Huntington and Elwood as the café aims to offer a relaxed alternative to big coffee chains with top-notch food and specialty drinks.

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3. Vespa Italian Kitchen expanding again, this time to Patchogue

🍝 One of Long Island’s busiest Italian spots is adding another location. Vespa Italian Kitchen & Bar has signed a lease at New Village in Patchogue and plans to open shortly after the Fourth of July in the former Cuban restaurant space — marking its third Island location.

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More headlines to highlight

📚 Huntington’s new bookstore-bar concept, Published, offers books, cocktails and coffee in the former Finley’s space.

🥤 Smoothie King will be doubling its Long Island footprint with planned locations in Smithtown and Syosset.

🍨 Manny’s Sweet Treats in Mineola continues to turn desserts into an experience, serving creative creations like cookie fries, gelato pizza and its over-the-top “Bathtub Sundae.”

🥑 Guac Time is planning to take over the former Pizza Hut building in Centereach, bringing the fast-growing Mexican concept to another Suffolk location.

🍔 Off the Bay has opened in Sayville, replacing the longtime Bait & Tackle spot on Main Street.

🍔 The longtime White Castle in Commack is temporarily closed for a remodel as the landmark slider spot gets a makeover.

🥪 A new Jimmy John’s has opened in Miller Place, adding another sandwich option along the busy Route 25A corridor.

🥗 Massapequa Park is now open, but Just Salad is still expanding across the Island with new locations planned for Lake Grove and N. Babylon.

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