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Tony’s Tacos and a wine and spirits store have been added to the growing slate of restaurants and retailers headed to The Shops at SunVet.
The new plaza is currently under construction at the former SunVet Mall property off Sunrise Highway in Holbrook, where the original 280,000-square-foot mall is being transformed into a 168,000-square-foot open-air shopping center.
Tony’s Tacos, which already operates four Long Island locations, will be taking up shop within a multi-tenant, stand-alone building off Broadway, toward the western end of the plaza, said Sean Mirkov, senior leasing agent with Regency Centers, the property manager.
It also marks the first locally operated eatery that’s signed on.
The deal came about this summer, Mirkov said.
“We checked them out, loved the operation,” he said. “It was a nice, new and fresh concept with a great product they were putting out. And we could really envision them at The Shops at SunVet.”
Tony’s Tacos, an Italian-influenced Mexican taqueria, also operates stores in Floral Park, Garden City, Huntington and Franklin Square. (Scroll down to read owner and founder Mike Scotto’s story.)
The Holbrook location will feature both indoor and outdoor dining.
So far, here’s what has been confirmed for The Shops at SunVet, which is expected to open in late 2025.
- WholeFoods
- Starbucks
- Aspen Dental
- Citibank
- Wells Fargo
- Nordstrom Rack
- Sephora
- Mogu Modern Chinese Kitchen
- Nava Health
- Teachers Federal Credit Union
- Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa
- Tony’s Tacos
- Wine & spirits store (no name provided just yet)
That all brings The Shops at SunVet to about 70 percent leased, Mirkov said.
Whole Foods, the center’s anchor store, is expected to open in 2026.
The background on Tony’s Tacos
By Anna Borruto | GLI archives
Mike Scotto’s inspiration for opening an Italian-Mexican-style restaurant stems from what he calls a universal love of bread.
Born and raised in Italy, Scotto grew up eating bread with every meal, an absolute must in his culture.
“My first breakfast when I was very young was bread dipped into wine, which in the United States you would get arrested for,” he joked.
He migrated to the United States in 2013, and, with his knowledge of food and restaurants, started working in restaurants in Baltimore, New York City and New Jersey, eventually making his way to Long Island.
Along the way, he learned from his Latino and Hispanic kitchen colleagues about their cuisine.
“It’s been cool because you teach and you also learn, so I learned they use tortillas as bread,” he said. “If you can put anything onto bread, I guess you can eat anything on a tortilla.”
That’s when it clicked: Scotto thought instead of the traditional taco with meat, onion, and cilantro, how about adding chicken parm or a meatball?
His latest restaurant venture, Tony’s Tacos, incorporates just that, and much more.
He first opened in Floral Park in early 2020 and debuted his second store in the heart of Huntington, followed by Garden City and Franklin Square.
“When we started Floral Park, in the beginning, people didn’t understand the concept, and to get them to try was very hard, but once they tried, they got hooked on it,” Scotto said.
“We sell about a thousand tacos out of that little small store.”
“Not your average taco” is the best way to describe the overall customer experience at Tony’s Tacos, Scotto says.
— Featured photos from Tony’s Tacos on Facebook
The western end of the future Shops at SunVet, where Tony’s Tacos will be opening a fourth location. (Nick Esposito/GLI)
