Uncle Giuseppe’s returns to Ocean Beach for second Fire Island summer

Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace returned to Ocean Beach for a second Fire Island summer, betting that prepared meals, specialty groceries and grab-and-go items still have a strong market on a barrier beach where every errand can depend on ferry schedules and summer crowds.

The pop-up again operated inside Ocean Beach Trading at 476 Bayberry Walk, right in downtown Ocean Beach. It first launched on May 9, 2025 after being announced in April, and it was set up as an every-day-of-the-week market stocked with signature cheeses, fresh pastas and sauces, sandwiches, antipasto platters, fully prepared meals and other convenience items meant for beach days, family dinners and last-minute gatherings.

That mix matters on Fire Island because the shopping experience is not the same as on the mainland. Residents and extended-stay visitors often need food that can be carried easily, served quickly and ordered without adding another trip off the island. Uncle Giuseppe’s also kept a ferry-delivery option in place, allowing customers to place grocery and catering orders through the company’s website for next-day delivery to any terminal on Fire Island at the same pricing available in stores. On a place where logistics can raise costs and limit choice, that pricing detail is as important as the product mix itself.

The return suggests the first season found enough demand to justify another year. Carl DelPrete and Ocean Beach Trading owner Evan Brett both pointed to the welcome the concept received from the Fire Island community, along with the quality, freshness and convenience shoppers wanted. In practical terms, the pop-up fills a gap between a full supermarket and the smaller, seasonal retail options that typically serve Ocean Beach in summer.

The move also fits Uncle Giuseppe’s broader growth. The company says its first store opened in East Meadow in 2001, and it has since expanded across Long Island and into New Jersey. By last summer, the chain was operating 11 locations in New York and New Jersey, and later expansion plans included a Bohemia store that would become its eighth Long Island location. The Ocean Beach operation shows that the company is not just chasing suburban growth, but testing how its prepared-food model works in one of Suffolk County’s most distinctive seasonal markets.

For Ocean Beach, the second-summer return turns the pop-up from a novelty into part of the summer supply chain, built around the realities of island living, peak visitor demand and the value of getting dinner, pantry staples and hosting food onto Fire Island without leaving it.