Welcome Back, Jack!

If you live in Bayside then you probably noticed that  inside the Bay Terrace shopping center, a well established staple for almost 40 years, was closed for renovations this past summer.

Well Patch has some good news for you.

"We officially reopened Tuesday and the place has been packed—a lot of regulars coming back," said Tina Sapienza, co-owner of Jack's and daughter of the original owner Jack Sapienza.

Those who remember the original Jack's may notice some big changes in the establishment’s layout and decor.

"When we signed our new lease, we felt that since it'd been 39 years since we'd done any renovations, let's gut everything and do it over," Sapienza said. 

But don't worry about the taste, said co-owner Anna Sapienza, mother of Tina, because Jack's still has the original stones from before, inside their ovens.

"That's very important. That's where the flavor comes from and they just don't make stone like that anymore," she said.

This flare for that flavorful, familiar, neighborhood slice seemed certainly appreciated by patrons of the recently unveiled Jack's—both new and old.

"My slice was great. As good as I remember it," said Mike Robbins, long time patron adding, "I've been coming here for almost 20 years. They definitely didn't disappoint."

Robbins also said he liked Jack's new look.

"I think it's nice—really opens the place up," he said.

Still for the Sapienzas, Jack's is all about the food.

"The recipes are all still my father's recipes. The sauce is the same and our kitchen operates like a restaurant so people can choose from menu items like pasta, spaghetti, meatballs, and many other Italian specialties," Tina said. 

Some family favorite menu items include the chicken francese, shrimp parmagiana and the baked manicotti with meat sauce.

Plus there's still plenty of specialty pizza to pick out of the line as well, like the barbeque chicken slice and baked ziti slice. 

"Most important—nothing is frozen, or from a package and everything is fresh and prepared daily," Tina said.

Jack's Pizzeria is located inside the Bay Terrace Shopping Center, right next to the music store.