HOLBROOK, N.Y. — One of Long Island’s more unconventional homegrown restaurant concepts is heading deeper into Suffolk County.

Tony’s Tacos is preparing to open at The Shops at SunVet in Holbrook, bringing its Italian-meets-taco menu to the redeveloped shopping center at 5801 Sunrise Highway. The restaurant is expected to open in early September, according to Greater Long Island. Tony’s own website currently lists the Holbrook location as “coming soon.”

And Holbrook is only part of a much larger expansion for a business that began with a tiny storefront in Floral Park.

From a 12-seat shop to a growing Long Island brand

Tony’s Tacos was founded by Italian-born chef Mike Scotto, who took an idea that sounds unusual on paper — combining Italian cooking with the format of a taco — and turned it into a recognizable Long Island restaurant brand.

The first Tony’s opened in Floral Park in 2020 with just 12 seats. Scotto told Greater Long Island that business grew so quickly that the company soon needed another location nearby, eventually expanding into Franklin Square, Huntington and Garden City.

Today, Tony’s describes itself as a Long Island-born concept built around Italian tradition and taco culture, with chef-driven food served in a fast-casual setting.

That distinction is important because Tony’s has never really tried to position itself as a traditional Mexican taqueria.

The taco is the format.

The flavors can go almost anywhere.

Chicken Parm in a taco? That’s the point.

Tony’s menu is where the concept really starts to make sense.

Instead of limiting itself to traditional taco combinations, the restaurant uses tortillas as the base for dishes inspired by Italian-American restaurants, steakhouses and comfort food.

The lineup has included creations such as Chicken Parm tacos, Vodka Parm tacos, Steak & Cheese, Buffalo Chicken and Birria, along with bowls, quesadillas, loaded fries and other fast-casual items. Greater Long Island reports that Scotto developed the idea after realizing that a tortilla could essentially serve the same purpose bread had always served in his Italian upbringing.

Earlier leasing information for the Holbrook restaurant described Tony’s as an Italian taqueria with more than 40 taco options, including creations such as Short Rib Peter Luger, Chicken Parm, Smoked Salmon, Mushroom Risotto and Surf & Turf.

It’s exactly the kind of menu built for somebody who looks at a taco and thinks, why does this have to follow any rules?

Holbrook gets a 4,400-square-foot Tony’s

The new Holbrook restaurant will occupy approximately 4,400 square feet at The Shops at SunVet, according to both Regency Centers’ current site plan and the original lease announcement from Breslin Realty.

The location sits in a freestanding building at the rapidly redeveloped shopping center, which is anchored by Whole Foods and also includes retailers and restaurants such as Nordstrom Rack, Shake Shack, Crumbl and others. Regency’s current property listing shows Tony’s in a 4,400-square-foot space alongside Shake Shack in the same portion of the center.

Earlier plans also called for both indoor and outdoor dining at the Holbrook location.

For Tony’s, the location gives the brand a much stronger presence in central Suffolk County.

Its existing Long Island restaurants are in Floral Park, Franklin Square, Garden City and Huntington, while a newer food-court operation is now open at Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst.

And Holbrook isn’t the end of the expansion

Tony’s growth plans stretch well beyond SunVet.

The company’s official site also lists a Green Acres Mall location in Valley Stream as coming soon, while Greater Long Island reports that location is being targeted for November. Green Acres itself includes Tony’s among the restaurants participating in the mall’s major redevelopment.

A Levittown restaurant is also in development. Long Island Business News reported earlier this year that Tony’s leased roughly 4,000 square feet at Levittown Mews on Hempstead Turnpike. Greater Long Island now reports the company is targeting late March 2027 for that opening.

There’s also a Babylon location planned on Deer Park Avenue, with construction underway and a spring 2027 opening currently targeted, according to Greater Long Island.

That makes this more than a single new restaurant opening.

Tony’s is clearly trying to turn a locally created concept into a much larger regional brand.

Three million tacos a year

The scale of that growth is becoming significant.

Scotto told Greater Long Island that Tony’s is now selling approximately 3 million tacos annually — a remarkable number for a company that started six years ago with a 12-seat storefront.

The Garden City restaurant may have been one of the biggest tests of whether the concept could scale. According to Scotto, some questioned whether a taco restaurant could support a roughly 160-seat operation. The location ultimately succeeded and helped set the stage for the company’s next wave of expansion.

Tony’s has also begun expanding the brand beyond individual tacos. Its official site promotes catering, a signature 21-taco Taco Box, a rewards program and even the company’s own 600 Tequila Blanco, named around Scotto’s story of beginning his business journey with $600 and an idea.

The Shops at SunVet continues its transformation

Tony’s arrival also comes during a major transformation of the former SunVet Mall property.

Regency Centers now describes The Shops at SunVet as a nearly 169,500-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center, with Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack and Ross Dress for Less among its major tenants.

The old enclosed mall has gradually been replaced by a modern open-air retail center, bringing a steady stream of new restaurants and retailers into Holbrook.

For local residents who remember what SunVet looked like years ago, the difference is becoming difficult to miss.

Tony’s Tacos will be another piece of that transformation — but unlike many of the national chains arriving at the center, this one started right here on Long Island.

WLIT.FM Takeaway

There’s something particularly Long Island about the Tony’s Tacos story.

An Italian chef opens a tiny taco shop in Floral Park, puts Chicken Parm and vodka sauce into tortillas, and six years later the company is selling millions of tacos while opening locations across Nassau, Suffolk and Queens.

Now Holbrook is next.

With Tony’s expected to open at The Shops at SunVet in early September — followed by additional expansion into Green Acres, Levittown and Babylon — the once-small Long Island taco shop is quickly becoming something much bigger.

And if you’ve somehow never tried Chicken Parm in taco form, Holbrook is about to give you another opportunity.

Sources

Greater Long Island, Tony’s Tacos official website, Regency Centers, Breslin Realty Development Corp., Long Island Business News, Queens Center and Green Acres Mall.