Gunther's Reopens Just The Way It Was

Boards were off the windows of Gunther’s Tap Room last week after a fire forced the owners to close for over a year. The iconic bar on Northport’s Main Street reopened Thursday.  Long Islander News photo/Pat Mellon

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The owners of Gunther’s Tap Room announced that they plan to reopen for business Thursday, Sept. 6, more than a year after a fire ripped through the iconic Northport Village watering hole.

“It’s been a long time coming, and it feels amazing to get it open again,” Brad Vassallo, who co-owns Gunther’s with Eddie McGrath, said.

Gunther’s has been closed since May 23, 2017 when an early morning fire, which investigators believe originated in a faulty electrical box inside the bar, caused significant damage to the 81 Main St. building in the heart of Northport Village.

McGrath and Vassallo purchased Gunther’s in May 2016 after the bar’s previous owner Pete Gunther passed away.

The building was originally built in 1889 and served as The Commercial Hotel. Gunther’s later opened in 1962 and became a frequent stop of Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac through the late ’50s and early ’60s.

Despite the extensive work required to bring Gunther’s back into working order, Vassallo said the bar “looks very similar… almost exactly as it was” before the fire.

“That was the whole plan,” Vassallo said. “To bring it back to the way it was with the brown and orange walls.”

Vassallo said they were able to salvage the bar top after the fire, which is one of a few items to survive the fire that help the new Gunther’s “keep the same type of feel.”

The loss of Gunther’s “left a little hole” in the tight-knit Northport community, Vassallo said, and many former regulars and employees donated time, money and materials to help rebuild it.

“There are so many people who have stepped up to help get us to this point, and I want to thank all those people,” Vassallo said.

Huntington's Outback Goes 'Down Under'

A rendering on display at the Big H shopping center in Huntington shows plans to construct new retail stores behind the former Outback location in Huntington, but the iconic steakhouse won't be a part of it. 

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

The Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Huntington’s Big H shopping center has closed its doors as construction continues on the surrounding property.

Outback, which has stood on the corner of New York Avenue and Semon Road in the Big H for the last 20 years, permanently closed on Sunday night, according to Elizabeth Watts, the director of media and community relations for Outback’s parent company Bloomin’ Brands.

“The decision was based solely on business circumstances and has no reflection on the employees,” Watts said. “We appreciate the community’s support over the past 20 years.”

Tampa-based Bloomin’ Brands, which also owns Carrabba’s, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s, operates a second outreach location in Commack that Watts said will remain open.

The decision to close Outback comes as Manhattan-based Urban Edge Properties, which operates the Big H, moves forward with construction to open additional retail stores in the basement of the former Outback location.

Plans received by the Huntington planning department in June of last year show that Urban Edge is looking to utilize approximately 11,120 square-feet of basement space under the former Outback and existing Astoria Bank as new retail space.

The basement was previously used as offices for the bank but is currently vacant, according to town documents.

The planned construction would open the basement to the exterior of the building with glass storefronts and entrances that can be accessed from a parking lot that is slated to be constructed on the side of the building closest to New York Avenue.

Plans show that, in order to make the lower level space usable, but the proposed parking lot area will need to be excavated in order to bring it into grade with the basement.

Urban Edge Properties did not return requests for comment before deadline Wednesday, the company’s website states the former Outback location is available for lease beginning Aug. 31.

Chorus Sings At Jets v. Giants Game

The St. Anthony’s High School Gregorian Schola appears on the jumbotron in MetLife Stadium just before they sang the national anthem ahead of the preseason matchup between the Jets and Giants.

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

Members of an elite high school chorus made it to the big leagues last Friday when they performed The Star Spangled Banner at MetLife Stadium before the preseason matchup between the Jets and Giants.

The St. Anthony’s High School Gregorian Schola, comprised of the best vocalists from the schools junior and senior classes, sang the anthem in front of a stadium full of football fans, as well as a nationally televised audience.

Brother Joshua DiMauro, who directs the Gregorian Schola along with Christopher Farrell, said the 65-member ensemble has performed at some big venues in the past, but nothing quite like a professional football stadium.

“This is another big feather in our cap,” DiMauro said.

DiMauro said the group had been practicing the national anthem for nearly a month leading up to St. Anthony’s graduation in June, so the students knew the song well.

The students arrived at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, home to both the New York Jets and Giant, while the players were still on the field for pregame warm ups.

“You could hear the kids’ excitement and see it in their faces when they saw the players just feet away from them,” DiMauro said.

The group had to be inside the stadium at around 4 p.m. for sound check ahead of the 7:30 p.m. kick off. DiMauro compared the experience to when St. Anthony’s Gregorian Schola performed at the Vatican in Rome.

“We were following a very strict second-by-second schedule,” DiMauro said. “We were able to get used to the acoustics of such a large stadium early in the afternoon during the sound check.”

St. Anthony's senior Konall Keane, who also plays on the high school’s varsity football team, said the experience was “so much different than singing at the high school.”

“There were a lot of nerves and excitement… all my emotions were just stirring when the crowd filled the stadium,” Keane said.

When it finally came time to perform on the field, the student’s didn’t disappoint. DiMauro said the stadium erupted during the final few lines of the anthem.

“The crowd in the area were yelling and screaming with applause once the sopranos hit that note, and I could see the faces of the kids… they were really pumped by that last howl of the crowd,” DiMauro said.

Keane said the experience is one he will never forget.

“I saw Eli Manning looking right at me,” Keane said. “Not many people can say that they sang the national anthem at an actual NFL game.”