Tina Aprea’s journey as owner of Angelo’s Little Italy in Amityville has been 53years in the making, since her dad took over the iconic Italian New York City eatery Angelo’s of Mulberry Street in 1970.  “I’ve always loved the restaurant business,” Aprea recalls. “It was always in my blood.”

The story of Angelo’s could have ended for good in 2017, when Aprea’s dad Giovanni Aprea died and the Little Italy landmark closed. She admits that she could’ve just “packed up and moved to Florida,” but she kept thinking about how another incarnation of Angelo’s could work on Long Island. That led her to open an 80-seat, 22-table venue in Amityville this past August, close to where she resides.