Business

Season of change for Calverton, Wading River delis

RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Stephen Prisco, the new owner of Wine Country Delicatessen and Caterers in Calverton.
RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Stephen Prisco, the new owner of Wine Country Delicatessen and Caterers in Calverton.

Location, location, location. Three delis in the Calverton-Wading River area have new owners and all of them say their locations have a lot to offer in the way of business opportunity.

“You’d have to be living under a rock to not know that there’s a lot going on in downtown Riverhead,” said Stephen Prisco, the new owner of Wine Country Delicatessen and Caterers in Calverton. Before Mr. Prisco took over in October, the deli, which sits on Middle Country Road across from Riverhead Charter School, was known as Farm View Deli.

“I’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of traffic on this road in the coming years,” he said.  “It seems to be an up-and-coming area.”

Mr. Prisco, of Manorville, has decades of deli experience and also owns Mastic Sports Deli and Caterers. He operates the new venture with his daughter, Kristina, who said they have added catering services.

“We’re a family business,” Mr. Prisco said.

RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Adam Nedvin, the new owner of Wading River Delicatessen on Route 25A.
RACHEL YOUNG PHOTO | Adam Nedvin, the new owner of Wading River Delicatessen on Route 25A.

Just a few miles away, Adam Nedvin is settling into his new role as co-owner of Wading River Deli, located in a busy Route 25A shopping center.

“Business is great,” Mr. Nedvin said while fulfilling lunch orders on a recent weekday afternoon. “It has a great clientele. People have been coming here forever.”

An Allstate Insurance agent, Mr. Nedvin, also of Manorville, has owned the deli with his brother-in-law, Thomas Rae, since the end of August.

“I’ve been coming here for years and thought it was a great opportunity,” Mr. Nedvin said, adding that he and Mr. Rae, who owned a deli a number of years ago, “found out it was for sale and took a chance.”

As co-owners, Mr. Nedvin and Mr. Rae have upgraded the deli’s look with granite countertops and new signs.

“We’re just trying to renovate it a little, bring it up-to-date,” Mr. Nedvin said. The menu at Wading River Deli will also be expanded.

“We’re going to have more specialty sandwiches and homemade salads,” Mr. Rae said, adding that nothing will be cut from the existing offerings. “We also have a brand new catering menu coming out.”

The theme of change continues at Angelo’s Bakery Pizza in Wading River, where Andrew Anker assumed ownership only a couple of weeks ago.

“We’re going to look at other things people in the community want,” said Mr. Anker, an East Patchogue native who expects to relocate to Shoreham after 30 years in Maryland, where he owned a variety of businesses.

“We haven’t cut anything from the menu; we’re only adding to it,” he said. “We’re going to expand our offerings to additional grocery items, healthy foods, comfort foods and prepared foods, like pastas and lasagnas.”

The desire to be closer to his Long Island relatives was one reason Mr. Anker said he chose to buy Angelo’s. The other, he said, was its location on Hulse Landing Road, across the street from Wildwood State Park.

“I was looking for a good opportunity to run a business and also be close to family,” he said. “Angelo’s is a great seasonal business.”

[email protected]