A New York institution since 1904, Vincent’s is taking its legacy to the next level
The staff at the legendary Vincent’s Clam Bar in Carle Place was just doing what they do every day — serving up quality Italian food at great prices to a packed house.
That’s when Daniel Pepi, the longtime general manager, struck up a conversation with one of the tables. They looked like a group of business executives.
And this being Vincent’s Clam Bar, everyone hit it off.
“You know, we would love to do this sauce in our store,” one of the execs finally said.
“Oh, yeah? What store is that?” Pepi recalled asking.
“The guy goes, ‘Walmart.’”
That was back in June.
Fast forward three months — after meetings, tastings and showcases — and Vincent’s jarred sauces are now on Walmart shelves across Long Island, with plans to expand to stores up and down the East Coast.
“Virginia is on the list, Carolina, obviously Florida,” Pepi said. “Anywhere where there’s people who moved out of New York and might feel a little disconnected from home.”
“Because we are New York,” added Anthony Gentile, Vincent’s director of marketing. “If you’re thinking Vincent’s Clam Bar, you’re thinking downtown, Little Italy, New York.”
And Vincent’s has been doing it since 1904.
Opportunity knocks
Reflecting on the whirlwind summer that could make Vincent’s a household name across the U.S., Pepi is reminded of an old saying:
“Good things take time and great things happen all at once.”
Vincent’s has been selling jarred sauces in regional supermarkets across the Tri-State area for 25 years. But for the team, the focus has always been on the restaurant, where things never slow down. (The restaurant serves between 6,000 and 7,000 customers every week.)
So the “sauce company,” as the Vincent’s team calls it internally, was always more of a side business.
“It was just doing its thing,” Pepi said. “I certainly wasn’t thinking about it.”
Then Walmart — the world’s largest grocer — came knocking at lunch.
“Now all of a sudden we’re in sauce mode,” Pepi said.
Forever hustling
Greater Long Island caught up with Pepi and Gentile as they were driving home from the sparkling new Walmart Supercenter in Yaphank.
“We’re doing hand deliveries to make sure all our signage is right, everything is going well, perfect,” Pepi said. “Meeting all the store managers. I’m in Yaphank today, Riverhead last week.”
What surprised the men most was being recognized as far east as Riverhead.
“I walk in and someone goes, ‘You’re from Vincent’s!’ It was nuts,” Pepi said.
“It’s been so bizarre,” Gentile added with a laugh.
But running around is nothing new for Vincent’s. Brothers Tony and Bobby Marisi took over the restaurant in the mid-1990s after working their way up to waiters. Their roots go back even further, to the famed Salerno’s Restaurant in Richmond Hill, Queens — where they first worked as dishwashers.
“It’s a long legacy, which is fascinating,” Gentile said.
Now, the Vincent’s crew is preparing to board flights as their sauces hit shelves well beyond Long Island.
Looking ahead
So what do the next few years have in store for this Long Island staple?
“The goal is always to be national, but we prefer to walk before we run because we’re grateful for where we are,” Gentile said. “We never want to jinx anything, because we’re still in the process of pinching ourselves.”
Top: Vincent’s sauces now line the shelves at the Walmart Superstore in Yaphank. (Credit: Nick Esposito)
