Locals open new Main Street eatery offering comfort food with a Cajun flair

Another new locally owned business has opened its doors on Main Street in downtown Riverhead.

J&L’s Chicken, Fish and Ribs is serving up comfort food with a cajun flair at 1020 East Main St. (If you’re an “old-timer” you know the spot as the former home of Kratoville’s Luncheonette, just east of Hubbard Avenue on the west side of the road.)

Entrepreneurs Leroy Hines and Joseph Clarke are partners in the new venture, which is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Hines, owner and operator of the successful mobile catering business Hines Catering, bought the property seven years ago. The timing wasn’t right for him to open a restaurant then, due to personal circumstances, but that was always the plan.

The pair have worked hard to renovate the long-vacant eatery into its current modern, comfortable space, with gleaming glass and stainless steel serving stations and booths where patrons can sit and enjoy.

J&L’s opened for breakfast on Saturday morning. The breakfast menu features J&L’s signature pancake wraps, a Hines invention, as well as eggs, biscuits, traditional pancakes, home fries bacon and breakfast sausage.

Lunch and dinner offerings include battered chicken pieces, wings, fish, ribs, burgers, a variety of sandwiches and wraps, “signature bowls” of mashed potatoes or yellow rice and chicken, corn and gravy and, of course, gyros and kabobs. Sides include baked mac and cheese, baked beans, corn, yellow rice collard greens, mashed potatoes and more. Find specials and more information on J&L’s Facebook page.

“We’re excited to be part of what’s going on in downtown Riverhead right now,” Hines said Saturday. “Riverhead itself is like an icon and right now it’s a hot spot. To be able to own a piece of that real estate is a good feeling.”

Hines said fans will still find his catering trucks at fairs and special events. “The catering business isn’t going anywhere,” he said with a smile.

J&L’s offers catering for all occasions and delivers, too. ($15 minimum order.)

Top photo caption: Joseph Clarke, left, and Leroy Hines, behind the counter at their new East Main Street restaurant on opening day Saturday morning. (Photo: Peter Blasl)