Andrew Drepanis always wanted the pizzeria next door to his family’s Greek Island Diner. This fall, eight months after Andrew’s passing, his son William made that dream a reality.
William Drepanis has taken over the pizzeria in the adjoining storefront at Little Bay Shopping Center on Route 25A, bringing the neighboring restaurants under the same family’s ownership.
Andrew Drepanis, who died in January at age 63, following a valiant 8-month battle with stage four-cancer illness, had worked in both diners and pizzerias growing up in Queens. He had long been interested in the pizza shop next door, which changed owners several times since the Drepanis family opened the diner.
“He always wanted me to have my own place too,” Drepanis said.
Island Pizzeria is in the storefront adjoining Greek Island Diner, which was founded in 2007 by Andrew and Marian Drepanis. RiverheadLOCAL/Peter Blasl
For Drepanis, 32, the new business is both an extension of the restaurant work he grew up doing and a chance to develop something of his own.
His parents opened the diner in 2007 and Drepanis started working there as a busboy and worked his way into the kitchen when he was about 13. He considered law enforcement and briefly worked for the post office, but returned to the family business. He estimates he has worked there full-time since about 2014.
Running a diner was familiar territory. Making pizza was something he had to learn.
William Drepanis, center with pizza makers Sergio Filo, left, and Joe Monaco. RiverheadLOCAL/Peter Blasl
When the opportunity to buy the neighboring shop arose, Drepanis turned to experienced local pizza makers, including friends of his father, for help. He learned to make the dough and sauce and work through the details that distinguish one pie from another.
His goal starts with the basics: dough and sauce made in-house, high-quality mozzarella cheese and a crust with some crunch.
“I just have my own standard for pizza. I know what I like, and that’s pretty much what I’m doing,” he said.
He uses Grande cheese and said he has been working to get the weight of the dough and the amount of yeast right for the thickness and rise he wants in his Sicilian pie. Alongside the regular pizza, he makes a variety of specialty pies, including an upside-down pie in the Brooklyn tradition and a white truffle pie with shaved truffles and truffle oil.
RiverheadLOCAL/Denise Civiletti
RiverheadLOCAL/Denise Civiletti
Having a diner next door also gives him room to experiment.
A white pie uses the diner’s spinach-and-feta mixture, which also goes into pinwheels. Other creations have included gyro meat and onion, macaroni and cheese, cheeseburger, and a surf-and-turf pizza topped with filet mignon and shrimp. There are vegan and gluten-free options, too.
He has made breakfast pizza with eggs, cheese and meats.
“In the diner business, you have everything,” Drepanis said.
The pizzeria’s menu includes calzones, pinwheels, stromboli, garlic knots and rice balls, as well as wings, soups, salads, wraps, paninis and heroes. Island Pizzeria also serves traditional Italian entrees such as chicken parmigiana, shrimp parmigiana and eggplant parmigiana, shrimp scampi, chicken scampi, chicken Francese, Chicken Milanese, eggplant rollatini, baked stuffed shells and more, all served with pasta and bread.
William Drepanis with some of Island Pizzeria Strombolis and pinwheels. RiverheadLOCAL/Denise Civiletti
Drepanis has a full line of Italian pastries and offers Italian ices — rainbow, cherry, chocolate and lemon — served in the familiar little cups. “Every pizzeria should have Italian ices,” he said.
His mother Marian initially worried about the demands of another business on a son who already had plenty to do.
Drepanis lives in Wading River and is the father of three boys, ages 5, 3 and 18 months. He turns 33 on Nov. 23.
His mother questioned how he would divide his time between two restaurants and his young family. But she came around, encouraged by his plans and by the knowledge that Andrew had wanted the pizzeria, too.
The workdays are long. Drepanis opens the diner in the morning and works at the pizzeria at night. Lately, the demands of getting the new business established have kept him from getting home for the boys’ bedtime, something he said he misses.
For now, he is concentrating on making perfect pizzas and building on the family’s relationship with its customers. Over the past 20 years, they have become like extended family.
“I’m very proud of him,” his mother said. “I know he’s gonna be a success. He’s a hard worker,” she said. “But I’m here to support him.”
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Dining and Cooking