Nearly 30% of Long Island’s population is Italian-American — and there’s a good chance all of them know Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace. 

Uncle Giuseppe’s has been a staple specialty grocer on Long Island since 1998 and, over the past 25-plus years, has opened 11 stores in the greater New York and New Jersey areas with a 12th reportedly slated to open in 2026. 

The stores’ shelves are well stocked with a variety of Italian staples, including sauces, pasta, fresh produce, cheeses and classic pastries — many of which are Uncle Giuseppe’s own brand. And, like any good Italian, Uncle Giuseppe’s also offers an assortment of hot, home-cooked-style meals. 

Grocery Dive recently visited the grocer’s Port Jefferson, New York, location on Long Island to see how the specialty chain leans into its Italian roots to dish up unique offerings. 

Just like Mama made

Hot-and-ready meals are the first things Uncle Giuseppe’s wants its shoppers to see — and smell — when they walk through the door. 

Numerous display cases hold prepackaged hot-and-ready meals and self-serve counters offer classic Italian-American favorites like baked ziti, sausage and peppers, and chicken parmesan. In all, Uncle Giuseppe’s prepared food department includes more than 130 dishes, according to its website. 

Along the wall headed toward the back of the store at Uncle Giuseppe’s Port Jefferson store, shoppers will find a variety of pizzas, calzones, stromboli, flatbreads, garlic knots and sandwiches. The station also allows shoppers to build their own chopped salad starting at just under $10. 

All Uncle Giuseppe’s stores have a pizzeria that serves pies made with hand-stretched dough and the grocer’s own sauce as well as its freshly made mozzarella.

As customers make their way along the perimeter of the Port Jefferson store, they’ll come across an extensive deli counter with cured meats, cheeses and other prepared offerings. Along the store’s back wall is a butcher counter and a fresh seafood counter. 

In another corner of the store is Uncle Giuseppe’s “pasticceria,” which roughly translates to “the art of pastry.” Cakes, muffins, breads, cookies and a slew of other pastries sit behind the counter’s glass case, on a display wall of bread and on the tables of prepackaged baked goods. The grocer’s website notes all of its baked goods are handmade from scratch. Customers can even watch Uncle Giuseppe’s bakers make donuts in-store. 

But the sweets go beyond baked goods. Located on the store’s center floor is a gelato, chocolates and candy station equipped with three chocolate fountains serving up white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. 

Essential ingredients

While Uncle Giuseppe’s flexes its premade options, the grocer also knows it’s marketing to Italians — and Italians like to cook.

The specialty chain carries a wide variety of ingredients from different brands, but its private label assortment is what truly stands out as shoppers walk the aisles. Uncle Giuseppe’s makes different cuts of fresh cut pasta daily such as Rigatoni, Fettuccine and Cavetaellii, according to the grocer’s website, noting it also sells gluten-free pasta. 

And of course, what is pasta without sauce? Uncle Giuseppe’s has a wide selection of homemade sauces under its private brand, including marinara, marsala, fresh basil pesto, fra’ diavolo, filetto di pomodoro and more.

Sausage pairs well with many pasta dishes, and Uncle Giuseppe’s makes its own Italian sausage in-store daily. Shoppers can take their pick from dozens of varieties, including the grocer’s signature cheese and parsley sausage. 

The Italian market chain makes its own fresh mozzarella, which has followed a recipe from Salerno, Italy, ever since it opened its first marketplace in East Meadow, New York, in 1998. 

The grocer also sells a wide array of spices and seasonings under its name brand.

Beyond Italian borders

Uncle Giuseppe’s is nothing if not Italian, but there is one counter that may surprise shoppers. 

Situated front and center at the Port Jefferson location is a sushi counter that has grown into a staple at Uncle Giuseppe’s stores. 

The sushi is hand-rolled fresh throughout the day and includes California rolls, spicy tuna rolls and rainbow rolls. 

And while Uncle Giuseppe’s fresh, homemade mozzarella may be a focal point of the market’s offerings, the grocer also offers its customers a wide assortment of cheeses. Hundreds of domestic and international cheeses are available, and the grocer’s staff is trained to help shoppers sort through the selection.

Visuals Editor Shaun Lucas contributed to this story.