Chef Marc Bynum opens The Pie Hole pizzeria in Farmingdale

Over the last 15 years, chef Marc Bynum has blazed a path through the Long Island dining scene that illuminates trends from sports bar and steakhouse to soul bistro, ramen shop and, most recently, upscale food truck. And now, perhaps inevitably, he has opened a pizzeria, The Pie Hole in Farmingdale.

Bynum wasn’t looking for a pizzeria, but rather, a parking spot for his Hush Truck and a commercial kitchen for his catering business, Marc Bynum Concepts. The former Ralph’s Slices on lower Main Street provided both — so Bynum figured he might as well get his rent money’s worth and open a pizzeria.

But the timing for pizza was right too. “There’s all this excitement about pizza,” he said, citing hip Brooklyn shops like Cuts & Slices (innovative toppings) and L’Industrie (classic New York pies with better ingredients) and the new Netflix series “Chef's Table: Pizza” (almost comically reverential pizzaiolo profiles).

On the one hand, he sees pizza as a logical extension of his cooking style: "The bread becomes a vehicle for flavor, no different from ramen or tacos." But, he conceded, “I’m not a baker. Learning how to perfect this dough I’ve thrown out more than one batch.” (To help him get started, he called upon veteran LI Italian chef Joe Balbo and assisting him on a daily basis is pizza maker Chris Serrano.)

The Pie Hole’s dough enjoys a three-day ferment; tomatoes are Alta Cucina and the basic cheese mix is a combination of whole and part-skim mozzarella. Get beyond the basic cheese and pepperoni pies and they become thoroughly Bynumized: There’s the Caribbean Queen with jerk chicken, grilled pineapple, plantain and hibiscus BBQ sauce; the Anthony Hamilton with braised short rib and collard greens; the Earth, Wind and Fire with charred roots vegetables and Brussels sprouts; or the Cardi with piri-piri shrimp, cilantro and onions.

Many of the toppings were inspired by his catering business. “If I’m making jerk chicken for an event, why not put it on a pizza? Same with the braised short ribs and piri-piri shrimp. It’s a perfect circle.” Each variety is available in slices, as a personal (12-inch) or large (18-inch) pie. Slices range from $4 to $6; personal pies from $15 to $18; large pies from $22 to $32.

There are also salads, meatballs, chicken Parm and some of Bynum’s greatest hits: “Dem WIngz” (with gochujang honey and scallion, $14), the Hush burger (with bacon jam and Cheddar cheese, $18) and, of course, Gayle King’s favorite ribs (with chipotle BBQ sauce and pickled watermelon, $18)

Bynum didn’t need to do much to the clean, sleek, six-seat space except order new signs and move around some refrigeration units. A liquor license and longer hours are forthcoming.

850 Main St., Farmingdale; opening hours are Tuesday-Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., Sunday to 9 p.m. 516-586-8395, @thepiehole_LI on Instagram