Frank Romano has been tattooing Long Island residents for decades and has now decided it is time to open up Da Vinci Tattoo in Farmingdale.
“It just felt like the stars lined up for me,” he said.
The tattoo parlor at 700 Main St. in Farmingdale opened on May 5 and had a ribbon-cutting with the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce on Friday, May 23.
Romano opened his first location in Wantagh in 1991. He said the parlor has been moved three times in order to accommodate the growing demand of the business.
Romano was born in Elmont and moved out of his childhood home when he was 17. His father was also a tattooer, and although Romano said he likes to think for himself, he said that growing up around tattoos helped him get into the idea of doing it for a living himself.
“I just got kind of absorbed into the culture and it fit me,” Romano said. “I’ve stayed with it and it became a lot of fun.”
He began tattooing in Denver, Colo., in 1983, and after a stop in upstate New York, returned to Long Island for the original opening of Da Vinci.
Romano said he has had artists from around the country work in his shop before, and that his trust in his artists allowed him to make the decision to open a new location.
He said many customers at the new parlor have been Farmingdale residents or previous clients.
“I knew if I built it, they would come—that’s the mentality I had,” he said.
The Farmingdale location opens at noon and closes at 9 p.m. every day.
“The Farmingdale community has been really welcoming and it’s nice to have people excited about the place,” Romano said.
