Located in the Smithtown Blvd shopping center across from Handy Pantry in Nesconset, “il Trio Restaurant & Pizzeria” is a family business, through and through. It’s (free) delivery system may cover a 3-mile zone, but the local hotspot still in post-Covid adjustment mode has changed the lives of many who reside outside of its radius.
“One of my best work experiences was my time as an il Trio cashier,” said Dan Field (Stony Brook – ‘18 BA, 2020 MBA), now a Buying Associate for SupplyHouse. “The owners showed me how passion, quality work, and always treating your employees with respect can lead to success. As a business student, I was able to watch small business owners exhibit an excellent managerial style while running a successful restaurant beloved by its community.
“The ‘Cavatelli con Pollo’ and ‘Rigatoni mi Amore’ are among my favorites of ‘Trio’s’ many fine dishes,” Field added. He is not alone in his assessment.
Current employees noted a special fondness for the former dish, and encourage its patrons to help give the underrated combination its due. Select management match this confidence when applied to their Salmon entree, seen positively sizzling off the page below. Moreover, il Trio prides itself on being one of the few local eateries who can turn just about any of its menu items “Gluten-Free” without sacrificing quality or traveling beyond a reasonable price range.
“The cauliflower crust – I personally think it’s phenomenal,” one employee noted. “A crispy, real good dough. At the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about?”
Though they closed their dining room for the first two months of the pandemic in 2020, takeout “boomed” during this period, claims server Rob Mensing, 25, of Hauppauge.
The SUNY Farmingdale alum has worked il Trio’s second-to-none sitdown area like a yet-discovered stand-up comedian for the bulk of his 20s, the better part of the past four years. Since joining on, Mensing has deployed a radiant energy and conversational mastery in everything from small talk to belly laugh-inducing banter. He has a clear pulse on when to pull back, and when to push forward – knowing when to leave you to enjoy your meal, and to smoothly rush in when you need a beverage refill pronto. Who better to train incoming restaurant worker bee’s-to-be? Especially in a day and age where younger generations are often unfairly presumed antisocial and easily rattled by default. Mensing is living proof you can be tech-savvy and look someone in the eye in 2022.
The business management-destined Mensing has nothing but kind words for his bosses who have long-provided him the space to grow on the job, and grow up period.
“The people here have treated me like family since Day 1,” Mensing revealed. “I never lasted at a job more than six months before il Trio; no manager or owner has cared about who I was, or my happiness, like Nando. He’s a genuine, real person who doesn’t play ‘smoke and mirror’ games or hide behind closed doors. He’s an owner who is here every single day overseeing the operation; not just making the money, but helping us make it too.”
Co-owner Fernando Londono runs a small, but loyal ship – not from above, but alongside them, as Mensing mentioned. The “unavoidable situation,” he knows, affected every business in-town and out – and has only made them more sure of their crisis protocol moving forward.
“We’ve just tried to keep doing the same thing we do,” Londono noted, “generating what’s always expected of us while also being safe, and doing it the best way we know how to do it.”
‘Trio’ regulars have seen firsthand the blend of storefront consistency and adherence to the “Covid-cautious” times, but word of mouth can only go so far. Don’t just spread the word in-person, share it over social media on Instagram @iltriorestaurant and on Facebook. Call (631) 676-3283 to order the best $14 cash pie you’ll have all week. Interested job applicants can also inquire at this number.
“Thank God, it’s coming back,” Londono said of the regular dining experience. “Little by little, we are recovering.”
If you can’t trust your local pizzeria, who can you trust?
