Long Island’s @PizzaSportsGuy: The Story of Rocco Bruzzese’s Dual Life in Pizza and Podcasting
By Anthony DiCocco
Two and a half years ago, Rocco Bruzzese, 33, logged onto Twitter and wanted to try something new. As someone who has always had a passion for sports, he decided to launch the @PizzaSportsGuy account in 2022 as a way to discuss his hobby and get away from the hustle and bustle of the restaurant business.
Today, that decision to enter the world of sports on X has gained Bruzzese 7,500 followers and led him to venture into the world of podcasting with Isles House, where he talks all things New York Islanders as a co-host. Despite his success in the world of social media, Bruzzese never expected to garner such a large following.
“I just wanted something to talk sports on for a change from my everyday job and it snowballed from there,” Bruzzese said. “The networking aspect and getting to know people has been really cool. I have a couple of close friends from it now and by talking about sports with people that actually cover the game, I’ve learned things I never expected to learn. It’s really nice.”
Born in Plainview but now residing in Greenlawn, Bruzzese has been working at Cafe Dolce Vita — the pair of pizzerias that his family owns — ever since he was a little kid. His father, Joe, owned and worked at a number of pizzerias after immigrating to America from Italy before opening Cafe Dolce Vita in Deer Park and Jericho in 1992 and 1996, respectively.
After graduating from Arizona State University with a degree in health, wellness and nutrition, Bruzzese decided to officially enter the family business to run the Deer Park location while his dad focused on the Jericho spot.
“I grew up in the business, so I always had it in the back of my mind,” Bruzzese said. “I enjoy it, I’m passionate about it and it’s an extra boost that it’s a family business because you can take a little bit extra pride in doing it.”
Though he did not go into the field he originally set out for, Bruzzese still learned valuable lessons while attending Arizona State that ended up applying to running a pizzeria.
“Experiencing life living far away from my family has helped me a lot,” Bruzzese said. “It allowed me to mature and meet new people from different cultures, so it’s a lot of what you deal with in the pizza business. You never know who’s going to walk through the door. It opened up my eyes a bit more.”
Similar to his college experience, becoming a notable figure on X within the Long Island sports community has also helped Bruzzese’s business. Through his interactions on social media, both pizzeria locations have gained new regular customers and even some customers that come out of their way to try Cafe Dolce Vita’s food.
Because of this newfound clientele and a connection to Islanders fans specifically, Bruzzese is experimenting with holding pregame events for Islanders games this season at his Jericho location due to its close proximity to the Hicksville train station, which runs directly to UBS Arena. Once a month, he intends on choosing a home game and welcoming fans into the pizzeria to either grab a bite before going to the arena or stay throughout the game for a viewing party at Cafe Dolce Vita.
Photo: Bruzzese’s preliminary menu item ideas for his Islanders pregame events. Courtesy @PizzaSportsGuy
Nothing is currently finalized just yet, but Bruzzese is tentatively planning the first event for Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Islanders take on the Florida Panthers. Though he has not yet confirmed what the final menu will include, Bruzzese unveiled a sneak peak on his preliminary ideas last month on X.
Outside of the pizzeria and his X account, Bruzzese has had a busy year in terms of his family life. In June 2023, Bruzzese married Erin, and this June, they welcomed their first child, Hallie Jane.
With all the challenges that balancing family life, work and a new hobby presents, Bruzzese credited Erin — who is a speech-language pathologist — his father and his mother, Lori, for making it all possible.
“I’m very fortunate,” Bruzzese said. “Erin always wants me to pursue anything I’m passionate about and always does her best to be by my side and I feel the same way in regards to her. We’re a very good team at home, we put our daughter before anything and our jobs are an important second. I owe a lot to her and I’m appreciative of both of my parents, who have obviously taught me a lot over time.”
Cover photo: Rocco Bruzzese at Cafe Dolce Vita in Deer Park. Photo by Anthony DiCocco.
Anthony DiCocco is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.
