Sag Harbor Man Freezes Last Conca D'Oro Pizzas Ever Made

After 42 years in business on Main Street, Sag Harbor’s beloved pizzeria, Conca D’Oro, sold its final pizzas on Halloween night, but one lucky customer will be enjoying the restaurant’s famous slices well into the winter. Lifelong Conca D’Oro fan and Sag Harbor native Jason Dacuk, 38, drove away with the last 10 pies on Tuesday, and he’s frozen three of them to help him adjust to a world without his favorite pizza place.

News of the restaurant’s closing—it was sold to LT Burger owners Michael Cinque and Laurent Tourondel over the summer—was difficult to bear for many locals, but it came especially hard Dacuk, 38, who says Conca D’Oro was weaved into the fabric of his childhood and continued to be a regular stop for him until its final hour.

“Honestly, there is an empty hole felt, knowing that they are gone, dramatic, but this is Sag Harbor, a great community to raise a family in, and a big part of the family is gone,” Dacuk says. “Growing up and being in the soccer team, we went there after every meal, which was a blast. And the family dinners were always fun,” he continues.

Dacuk went into Conca D’Oro around 11:30 a.m., just as they opened on Tuesday, and ordered the 10 pies for his “big Halloween party” with family, friends and lots of kids. When he, his wife Michele Liot and their young children arrived to pick up their delicious bounty at 5:15 p.m., Dacuk was shocked to find reporters and a crowd of people cheering in support of soon-to-be former owners Frank Venesina and his parents Lina and Tony. The scene was crazy, he says, noting that a few people were angry with him for walking out with Conca D’Oro’s last pies—especially so many of them!

“I have been eating there since I was basically born, but really it was Frankie’s choice to make them the last ones,” Dacuk says, “and my son Dax and wife Michele helped make the last two pies.” The experience, he adds, was quite emotional, but it will certainly help that only seven of the 10 pizzas were eaten at the party, leaving the remaining pies for future enjoyment. “The other three are in a deep freeze, as to enjoy over the winter,” Dacuk says, also revealing a huge container of Conca D’Oro’s signature salad dressing in his refrigerator. “You’ve got to have the dressing to dip the pizza in. It’s a closely held secret!”

Possessing what is almost surely the last three complete Conca D’Oro pizza pies on the planet provides some solace for Dacuk, but nothing will replace his favorite restaurant. “They were a part of everyone’s family for a long time, and it’s sad to see them close,” Dacuk explains. “We all grew up in town, and they basically kept us fed growing up. Most nights we would show up at closing, ’cause Frank would give us free leftover pies—not many stores are as generous as they have been to the community.”