Iconic LI bakery to serve up sweet treats in vacant Huntington Station store

One of Long Island’s iconic bakeries will open in a third location in Huntington Station along with a national sandwich chain.

One of the owners of Levittown’s Dortoni Bakery said the newest branch and a Jersey Mike's Subs would open in the former Pier I Imports building on East Jericho Turnpike.

Donnie Messina said the family bought the building earlier this year and plans to subdivide it into five stores.

"We’re very familiar with and love the area and saw the revitalization of the [Walt Whitman] mall and felt that area was a prime spot to be revitalized. It’s such a beautiful corner." Messina said.

In 2019 a Dortoni Bakery and Café opened in Commack. The Huntington Station store will carry the same name.

Messina said renovations would start this summer on the 7,000-square-foot building located at 7 E. Jericho Tpke. on the corner of New York Avenue. Pier I Imports closed in 2020.

"We’re going to rehab the property," he said. "We’re redoing the landscaping, changing the colors of the building, redoing the parking lot. We’re refreshing the whole property."

Messina said he did not yet know who the other tenants would be.

Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said that in addition to the delicious baked goods that would be coming to the town, having a business on that corner would be a benefit.

"It’s a great location to welcome a small business," Lupinacci said.

Messina said the goodies in the new location would be the exact ones found in the original Levittown bakery.

"It’s the same product line, the same quality, the same employees, same pricing and everything else," Messina said.

Messina said later this year two other bakeries owned by the family, in East Norwich and Port Jefferson named La Bonne Boulangerie, would be rebranded as Dortoni bakeries.

"We have such a loyal following that we decided to make all of our stores a Dortoni and fully brand the name and fully consolidate the name," Messina said.

He said the family owned business is five generations in the making, with his father Raffaele founding the Levittown location 45 years ago after learning baking skills from his grandfather and father in Italy. Messina believes what has distinguished their bakeries from others in the area is the variety they offer, he said.

"How many places can you get a high-end wedding cake but also get an old-fashioned biscotti," Messina said. "We’re old school and new school."