For three and a half years, the old Attilio's Pizza space at 96 Mineola Avenue was the kind of storefront you stop seeing. It had a sign and a plan, but nothing happened inside. This summer it opened as Kuku, a Korean restaurant run by someone who lives in Roslyn Heights. Within a few weeks of each other, three other spaces nearby that had been dark or never used came back the same way.
Every one of the four filled a gap on a street people already use. Kuku took a pizzeria space that needed zoning approval to become a full restaurant. Uncle Giuseppe's took a supermarket that had been closed since late 2024. Pilar took a ground floor across from the train station, and Ilios took a historic shopfront whose dessert counter had closed. Taken together, they now cover the whole day, starting at 7 a.m. and running until 10 p.m.
Mineola Avenue waited longest
Kuku's opening came after the longest wait of the four. Newsday reported in July that restaurateur James Chen, who lives in Roslyn Heights, had wanted a Long Island branch of his Queens-based Kuku brand for several years. He and chef and business partner Chris Pak picked the former Attilio's Pizza on Mineola Avenue, and permitting issues held up the space for three and a half years.
According to Newsday, the holdup was technical. The pizzeria had not counted as a full restaurant, so the partners had to go through zoning boards before building a full kitchen and dining room from scratch. Chen told Newsday, "Roslyn is, you rebuilt the whole entire house from the ground up." In the meantime, the team opened a larger Kuku in Huntington, which landed on Newsday's list of best new restaurants of 2025.
The Roslyn Heights location is smaller and lower-key than Huntington, closer in feel to the brand's Long Island City and Forest Hills spots, and it has no sushi bar. The menu covers Korean fried chicken along with homestyle dishes: hot stone bibimbap, silken tofu stews, and hot and cold noodle soups. Newsday singled out the kudzu noodles at $18.99, a take on the cold noodle dish naengmyeon. The server cuts the chewy black noodles with scissors into an icy broth.
Kuku was listed at opening as open 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. That makes it the only one serving both lunch and dinner.
Wheatley Plaza closed a grocery gap of about 21 months
Greenvale's wait was shorter, but it involved a much bigger space. Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace opened in mid-August at 130 Wheatley Plaza, in the former Stop & Shop that closed in November 2024, according to the Long Island Press. That left about 21 months without a supermarket at that address.
It is the 13th store for the family-owned chain, and the layout is designed to show the cooking. The Press listed a mozzarella room, a pasta room, a scratch bakery, a signature deli, a pizzeria, a butcher shop and a seafood department with prepared meals. Company president Michael Nelson told the paper the Greenvale store emphasizes natural and organic foods and carries one of the company's largest selections of Italian specialties.
There is one practical detail for regulars. Nelson told the Press that parking can be tight at this location, so the store runs a courtesy golf cart shuttle between the parking area and the door. The carts play music and have Italian horns, and the paper reported that the shuttle runs regularly, not just for opening weekend. The store also employs about 300 people, most of them new hires.
Warner Avenue got a ground-floor tenant by the train
The third space was the ground floor of an office and apartment building across from the Roslyn train station, not a closed business. Newsday reported that Pilar Coffee Bar opened there in July at 333 Warner Avenue. It is the first Long Island location of a brand founded in Deerfield Beach, Florida, in 2024, with Huntington and East Northport stores planned next.
Newsday described the interior as matte white tile, blond wood and earth-tone accents. The menu runs well past coffee: avocado toast at $9.95, overnight oats at $8.95, grain bowls at $13.95, and sandwiches like a hot honey chicken at $13.95. On the coffee side, cappuccinos are $5.95 and lattes are $5.50, with signature lattes such as honey cinnamon and toasted marshmallow starting at $6.95.
Hours were listed at opening as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. That makes Pilar the earliest stop of the four, and the only one close enough to the platform for a morning train.
Old Northern Boulevard turned over fastest
The fourth space had the shortest gap and the most history. The storefront at 1355 Old Northern Boulevard in Roslyn Village was home to Yolo Yogurt and Desserts for more than a decade, until it closed earlier this year. Long Island Wave reported that Ilios Froyo finished a soft opening in August and is now officially open in the same spot.
The building matters here. Long Island Wave noted that the Roslyn Landmark Society identifies 1355 Old Northern Boulevard as the Frederick C. Hicks Store, built roughly between 1895 and 1905. A shopfront that old went from one dessert counter to the next.
Ilios uses organic Greek yogurt instead of a soft-serve mix. The order Long Island Wave says took off on TikTok during the soft opening is frozen yogurt topped with pistachio kataifi, a shredded phyllo pastry. Newsday also covered the opening in September.
Check the hours before you go. Long Island Wave's September 1 report listed evenings only, 5 to 9:30 p.m., closed Mondays. Newsday's September 11 report listed 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Either way it is an after-dinner stop that is closed on Mondays, and it opens close to when Pilar closes.
Four refilled spaces, one full day
Put the four together and they cover the day. The hours below are as listed when each place opened, so confirm them before you plan around one.
| Stop | Address | What was there before | Hours listed at opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pilar Coffee Bar | 333 Warner Ave., Roslyn | Ground floor of an office and apartment building across from the train station | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily |
| Kuku | 96 Mineola Ave., Roslyn Heights | Former Attilio's Pizza, held up three and a half years by permitting | 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily |
| Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace | 130 Wheatley Plaza, Greenvale | Stop & Shop, closed November 2024 | Not published in opening coverage |
| Ilios Froyo | 1355 Old Northern Blvd., Roslyn | Yolo Yogurt and Desserts, more than a decade on the corner | 5 to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, per Newsday in September |
Two of them already fit into a route. Pilar is across from the station, and Ilios is on Old Northern Boulevard in the village. That makes an evening loop possible: dinner at Kuku on Mineola Avenue, then a short drive to Ilios for dessert any night but Monday.
The newcomers were on the Taste of Roslyn lineup within weeks
The clearest sign that these openings joined the local restaurant scene came on September 24, at the first annual Taste of Roslyn at Haute Durvo on Lumber Road. The Roslyn Landmark Society and the Greater Roslyn Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the fundraiser. In its post-event account, the Landmark Society reported 225 guests and a silent auction.
According to the Landmark Society, fourteen restaurants anchored the evening:
- Hendrick's
- Okaru
- Griffin
- Alto Enoteca
- 388
- Sweet Harbor Coffee
- Delicacies
- Felice
- Gold Coast Whisky Club
- Uncle Giuseppe's
- The Sinclair
- Ilios Frozen Greek Yogurt
- Mythos
- Atlas New World Bistro
Uncle Giuseppe's had been open about six weeks, and Ilios had finished its soft opening only a few weeks before. Both were on the list next to long-established names. Skurnik Wines, Halcyon Liquors and Roslyn Wine and Liquor supplied the drinks.
The event page said proceeds support the Landmark Society's preservation mission and Chamber programs. The Landmark Society's recap described the night as a foundation to build on next year and closed with, "We're looking forward to welcoming the community back again next time!" No 2027 date has been posted, but the inaugural lineup already tells you which restaurants the organizers count as part of Roslyn's dining scene, and two of this summer's newcomers made it.
At Golden Real Estate Group, we follow which storefronts sit empty and which ones fill, because that turnover shapes daily life on Mineola Avenue, Old Northern Boulevard and Wheatley Plaza. If you'd like to know what's planned for the empty space on your own block, or what this summer's openings could mean for your street, book a consultation and we'll walk through it with you.
