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The site best known as the former Fire Island Pizza in Shirley will soon be home to the fourth Naz’s Halal Food restaurant.
The location, at 456 William Floyd Parkway, has seen heavy turnover in recent years. It was most recently Magic Meat Market & Deli.
Renovations have been taking place in recent days, with a new paint being applied to the exterior Monday.
Naz’s Halal Food, serving rice platters, gyros, burgers, salads, wings and falafel, among other items, was founded by two cousins, Naz Mashriqi and Kareem Mohmend, in 2009 as a food truck in Queens. Both are teachers at John Bowne High School in Queens.
They opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in January 2018 in North Babylon. Other locations are in Brentwood and Levittown.
“We’re fusion food — a mixture of Mediterranean and American food,” Mohmend said. “It’s healthy food that allows you to eat at a McDonald’s price point. Everything is made in house. Everything is fresh. We cook falafel fresh — it’s made to order.”
“Our main dish that we’ve been known for is our rice platters and our gyros,” Mohmend said.
He added that he chose the location after passing it on the way to Smith Point County Park. “I stopped off at Joe’s Pizza and I loved the pizza and I loved the traffic in the area.” He said it reminded him of his native Afghanistan.
Mohmend said he is targeting a July 4th opening for the store, which will have 20-24 seats.
An official grand opening will feature free lunch specials from 12-3 p.m. on a Sunday.
Mohmend said he the company wants to bring a “family environment” like the community remembers it used to be as Fire Island Pizza.
“We want to be an integral part of the community.”
