Mama’s of Copiague expands to Carle Place with huge new Italian restaurant

Greater Mineola coverage is funded in part by The Farm Italy — a striking neighborhood restaurant and cocktail bar that brings the simplicity, beauty and seasonal freshness of local Italian dining to Westbury.

Mama’s of Copiague, a beloved Long Island Italian restaurant with more than 50 years of history, is expanding into Nassau County.

The Sala family is opening a second Mama’s location this month at 231 Old Country Road in Carle Place, taking over the former Passione restaurant space near Roosevelt Field.

The new restaurant is led by siblings Nora, Adam and Ahmy Sala, whose family has more than 40 years of restaurant experience. After taking over the space, the family gutted it and rebuilt it as a more open, family-friendly Italian restaurant with quick-service options, full-service dining and room for private events.

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“We chose Carle Place for our second location because it’s a vibrant, growing community that knows good food,” brothers Adam and Ahmy Sala told Greater Long Island. “It’s a perfect fit for the warm, family-focused atmosphere we have at Mama’s of Copiague.”

The sprawling Carle Place restaurant features pizza and dessert display cases up front, a main dining room with seating for 120, a banquet room with seating for another 100 and an outdoor brick-and-stucco patio with a bar and room for 60 guests. The patio is expected to host seasonal live music.

Restaurant buyouts are available for 220 guests inside, or up to 280 guests using the indoor and outdoor spaces.

The new Mama’s will continue the scratch-kitchen approach that made the Copiague location a South Shore staple. The restaurant makes more than 10 sauces daily, along with hundreds of pounds of dough for pizza and garlic knots.

The menu also includes housemade desserts such as tiramisu, cannoli, cheesecakes and specialty cakes. Weekly dinner specials will include pasta night on Mondays, seafood on Tuesdays, steak on Wednesdays and chicken on Thursdays. Each special comes with a house salad, fresh garlic knots, cheesecake and coffee or tea.

“This sprawling location gives us the opportunity to do all kinds of private events and the patio can’t be beat,” the Sala brothers said. “People travel from Carle Place and western Nassau to our Copiague location weekly, so why not bring Mama’s to Carle Place?”

Mama’s of Carle Place will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.