Whether you’re going out to eat at one of Long Island’s many restaurants, or shopping at a hot new boutique, you might be surprised to find out who owns them. These Long Islanders, ages 30 and under, already have successful brick-and-mortar businesses. They include a millennial who now owns a shop she used to work for, a high schooler who opened a record store, a 26-year-old who started a café bakery behind her parents’ antique store, and a young entrepreneur who, with his cousin, took over the family’s Indian eatery.
Carolyn Rios, 29 and Michael Barriga, 29
Owners of Ceci’s Arepa Joint
Jenna Napolitano, 26
Owner of Elise’s Niece’s Cafe
Malik Morris, 27
Owner of Malik Dupri
Carissa Cillis, 29
Owner of What A Girl Wants
Justin Aronoff, 27
Owner of Center Cuts Gourmet Butcher and Catering
Matthew Pesko, 28 and Lexi Balunas, 30
Owners of Cloud Nine Ice Cream and Cereal Bar
Jasmine Richards, 28
Co-owner of Anoz Spa Boutique
Ahmed Khalil, 22, and Mohammed Saleh, 23
Owners of Selected Hype
Jordan Krauss, 23
Owner of Love and Honey
Luca Williams, 16
Owner of Moonshot Emporium
Supy Singh, 24 and Kam Singh, 30
Owners of Tava Fine Indian Cuisine
Michael Napolitano, 28
Co-owner of Nunzi’s
Gabrielle Banschick, 29
Owner of Penelope
Katie Goulding, 24
Owner of AJ Sunflower
Editors: Alison Bernicker and Meghan Giannotta
Reported by: Lisa Irizarry, Joann Vaglica and Scott Vogel
Photo editors: Hillary Raskin and David Trotman-Wilkins
Multimedia by: Debbie Egan-Chin, Elise’s Niece’s Cafe, Johnny Milano, Brittainy Newman, John Paraskevas, Linda Rosier, Supandeep Singh, Barry Sloan, Alejandra Villa Loarca, J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Design: Anthony Carrozzo