Legendary Alfonso’s Bakery: The Iconic Pastry Shop of Staten Island

The owner of Staten Island’s iconic Alfonso’s Pastry Shoppe is selling the family business, marking the bitter-sweet end of an era, which has been a borough staple since Italian immigrant Alfonso Campitiello founded it in 1970. His son Anthony Campitiello, the current owner expressed that, “It’s about time. It takes a lot out of you.” The family wishes to move on from the business with mixed emotions. The building which was listed last month for $2.2 million, hopes to pass Alfonso’s shop to another owner as part of the sale. Alfonso, who died in 2020 at the age of 81, opened his shop at the current location in 1978 after learning his pastry skills at the Plaza Hotel. Given his health and the pandemic, Anthony is now making this difficult decision. He might open a smaller version of the bakery in New Jersey to keep himself busy. Broker Christine DeHart of Salmon Real Estate mentioned that interest in the business has been expressed including from other bakeries, she also stated that there have been a number of such mom-and-pop businesses in the borough that have closed due to the pandemic, a fact that “weighs on you,” according to Campitiello.