Astoria's Beloved Sac's Place Expands At Kaufman Studios

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Nearly three years after Sac's Place departed its longtime Broadway storefront for a new location at Kaufman Astoria Studios, the beloved Italian restaurant is expanding with a new pizza garden — and making a long-awaited return to slice sales.

Sac's will hold a soft opening next Wednesday for its new outdoor space, under Kaufman Studios' recognizable, landmarked entryway on 35th Avenue between 35th and 36th streets.

"We got all our equipment and we’re ready to open — it’s going to be our pizzeria," said co-owner Domenico Sacramone, who founded Sac's Place in 1989 with his brother, Anthony.

The opening has been a long time coming: after 30 years at the corner of Broadway and 29th Street, Sac's Place relocated in September 2019, and its old building was soon demolished to make way for an apartment complex.

Sac's lease at Kaufman covered both the basement space formerly home to George's restaurant, as well as the outdoor garden area. But maintenance work and scaffolding prevented the restaurant from opening in the outdoor space during its first season.

Months later, Sac's tried opening the space as an extension of the below-ground restaurant, but found it too logistically challenging.

"We tried to run it out of the kitchen but it was just impossible — walking around the block with the food, it was impossible to keep the food warm," Sacramone said.

Now, a new oven that Sac's had expected to receive last spring has finally been delivered, allowing the restaurant to serve up fresh pizza by the slice in the outdoor space. The news is sure to please pizza-loving Astorians, since Sac's has only sold whole pies since moving to Kaufman in 2019.

Besides lunch and dinner service, the garden space will also feature live music, and — depending on landmarks approvals —a cable hookup for TV screens. While Sac's current venue doesn't get the same foot traffic as their old Broadway spot, Sacramone said they have settled into their new digs in a different corner of Astoria.

"Kaufman, our landlords, have been great to us," he said. "We love the space, we love the whole part of the area."

Related coverage: Sac's Will Move Its Pizza Restaurant To Kaufman Astoria Studios