Farmingdale's Vico To Donate Takeout Meal Proceeds To Charity The Chloe Belle Foundation

FARMINGDALE, NY — A collaboration so nice, they had to do it twice. Vico: Costiera Amalfitana, an Italian restaurant in Farmingdale, announced it will donate a portion of the proceeds of every takeout order sold to cancer charity The Chloe Belle Foundation throughout December.

Last year, Vico raised $1,250 for the Northport non-profit. Perry Fortuna, co-owner and manager of Vico, said he hopes to raise more for the same charity this year. The Chloe Belle Foundation's mission is to bring joy to children and young adults fighting cancer.

Vico, located at 313 Main St., Farmingdale, is donating $5 of every takeout pizza pie sold, starting at $14.95, or every family meal deal sold at $34.95. The three-item family meal deals feed four to five people and give customers choices on salads, pastas and entrees. The promotion is set to run for the entire month of December, Fortuna said.

The Chloe Belle Foundation was created in honor of Chloe Belle Lindberg, a Northport resident who was only 26 when she died of acute myeloid leukemia in January 2021. She fought the cancer for 13 months after she was diagnosed at age 25.

"We love how it went last year with how much people loved supporting it," Fortuna told Patch. "We had people from Northport, where I'm from, coming out and getting it, because that's where the [Lindberg] family is from. We're just doing what my family's restaurant in Italy does, which is, you work with the community, work with the church, and you'll be there forever. It seems like we're slowly but surely making our footprint doing that."

Remi Lindberg, who founded The Chloe Belle Foundation in memory of her younger sister, said it is "so special" to she and her family that Fortuna and everyone at Vico chose to support The Chloe Belle Foundation once again.

"It is the biggest gift," she said. "Not only are we thankful for the financial support that they have and will provide to further our mission, we are grateful to just be a part of something with such wonderful people. It feels so good."

Last December, Vico customers rallied around the promotion, eclipsing $1,200 in fundraising for The Chloe Belle Foundation. Lindberg said her message to Vico's supporters is that of expressing her "sincerest gratitude" for supporting the fundraiser.

"Your support of Vico directly supports us, and I know we’re all just so happy to have these amazing people who are a part of it," she said. "It’s a chain. All of us together, we do this and make the world a little brighter. We need all of us. And that realization is beautiful."

Lindberg said her family is lucky that Vico is "so beloved and such an incredible restaurant."

"It doesn’t get any better for people who want to donate to TCBF," she said. "It’s such a fantastic deal. To get exceptional food at such an amazing price? You can’t say no to it! That’s the easy part. It’s being the one that Vico chooses to collaborate with and support that is so special. They put so work into it, and they are so generous. We’re truly lucky. I am so thankful for everyone at Vico."

The Lindbergs anticipate using this year's funding for care packages and toys for children fighting cancer.

"We want to uplift people even for a second," Remi said. "We are meticulous about what we send, making sure we know what [recipients] want. It is so specific and customized to each recipient."

Lindberg said one moment of happiness for a cancer patient feels like a "lifetime" given the mental and physical ordeal they are going through.

"[Cancer] is on their minds 24/7," she said. "They are living a life where they can’t forget. Hospitals every day — pain and mental struggles. That one moment is very important to me and that’s what I want to continue."

Click here to read a Q&A with The Chloe Belle Foundation.

Fortuna said he has a personal connection with cancer and wants to help children who are impacted by the disease.

"I think we should divert our attention toward it," he said. "Between that and having a personal connection — Chloe graduated a year ahead of me in Northport; I didn't know her too much, but it's a good two-in-one. It's the Farmingdale community and my community back in Northport."

Lindberg noted the Northport connection between her sister and Fortuna.

"Where we are from and where we grew up are such a huge part of our life story," she said. "Even if we leave and never see the place or people again, it is still deeply ingrained in us. So, when you have a connection like Perry and Chloe both going to the same high school and being close in age, it is significant. There is an unspoken connection that other people don’t have and will never understand. The support of both [Farmingdale] and [Northport] is simply wonderful. Everyone who supports us is loved by us."

Fortuna said he chose December to run the fundraiser given it is the holiday season.

"Christmas is all about giving back," he said.

Fortuna said selling full-sized pizzas starting at $14.95 and a three-course meal deal for $34.95 is a "really good deal" for customers. He hopes those who try the takeout will then try the dine-in.

"We don't want to make money off of it," Fortuna said. "We want people to just to have our food and experience it, because we do make it different with no synthetic seed oils in anything. We're one of the only restaurants that offer that. We feel that if we get our food out at a really cheap price, then people are going to come back for more. We calculated that our prices are in line with fast food places. So if you go to [a chain], you're paying more money for two kids meals and two adult meals than our meal. So it's healthy food and a better option with a lot more food."

The family meal package has enough food for potential leftovers, too, Fortuna added.

Vico also provides $5 gift cards with family packages that people can use for in-house dining, Fortuna said.

"We're essentially giving away everything in hopes people will come back and try the other foods we offer," Fortuna said.

In addition to offering Italian American-style takeout, Vico offers an in-house menu inspired and honed by the Fortuna family's roots on the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Dishes are reminiscent of what people would eat in Vico Equense. The restaurant offers artisan personal pizza; pasta dishes; pasta in "bomb bowls" — a pizza dough bowl topped with a heaping scoop of burrata — giant potato croquettes; appetizers and select entrees.

If you save room, Vico also offers dessert pizzas, including Nutella or cannoli.