— Patchogue, N.Y.
June 12, 2017 |
Drift 82 is opening for the first time Thursday where the river meets the bay in Patchogue Village — right next to the Davis Park Ferry terminal.
“Now people will be happy when they miss the ferry,” joked Drift co-owner John Sarno, who teamed up with Village Idiot Irish Pub business partner Tim Kelly to rebuild the former On the Waterfront building.
And rebuild they did.
“We spared absolutely no detail,” said Sarno, who also owns Village Idiot Pub in Patchogue. “We invited The Dusty Attic [owners] over for the finishing touches, with all the beach and Long Island signs. It’s like a place you’ll find in Montauk, or Patchogue.”
The Sandy- and Irene-damaged building needed a complete makeover.
“The more layers we tore down, the more work there was to do,” he said. “We basically rebuilt the entire building form the ground up,” including the kitchen.
The vision all along was to build a more modernized version of a Long Island or Fire Island seafood spot — with a rustic, beachfront decor throughout. The stand-alone bar at the adjacent dock is also being rebuild and will open sometime in July.
“The intention is to one day add an upstairs deck,” Sarno said.
Drift 82, located at 82 Brightwood Street in Patchogue, opens Thursday to general public at 11 a.m. It will be open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.
Click here to visit the website. The menu is coming soon.
More photos below. Click here for prior coverage.
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