Naples Rib Company Verified listing

For generations of Long Beach residents, Naples Rib Company has remained one of those increasingly rare institutions that feels stitched into the fabric of the city itself. Tucked along East Second Street near the entrance to Naples Island, the restaurant has spent decades serving up smoky ribs, prime rib, cornbread, and family-style hospitality in a space where Little League banquets, birthday dinners, and neighborhood celebrations have unfolded side by side. Founded as part of the Ursini family’s growing barbecue legacy, the Long Beach restaurant was acquired in 1992 after the success of the original Newport Rib Company, itself launched in 1984 by family patriarch Fran Ursini.

Today, longtime owner David Ursini continues to guide the restaurant with the same community-first ethos that helped transform Naples Rib Company from a neighborhood rib house into a Long Beach staple. Ursini famously left a career as a CPA in his twenties to run the Belmont Shore-area restaurant, dedicating himself to preserving the family business while growing its catering operation and deepening its ties to the city.

Over the years, Naples Rib Company has become as much a gathering space as it is a restaurant, with generations of families returning for celebrations, sports banquets, and familiar comfort food. Even as Long Beach’s dining landscape has shifted dramatically around it, the restaurant has maintained a distinctly old-school identity rooted in consistency, hospitality, and neighborhood loyalty.

That commitment to community has become central to the restaurant’s legacy. Ursini has long supported local schools, athletics, and nonprofit organizations, helping cement Naples Rib Company’s reputation as more than simply a barbecue destination. The restaurant’s enduring appeal lies not in chasing trends but in offering something increasingly uncommon in Southern California dining: permanence. In an era where restaurants often come and go within a few years, Naples Rib Company has remained a constant for Long Beach residents seeking a familiar booth, a full rack of ribs, and the comforting sense that some places still belong wholly to the communities they serve.

Written by Brian Addison. Photos by Brian Addison / Yelp! / Courtesy of business.