The Blue Duck Bakery Cafe plans to open its third East End location in downtown Riverhead this summer, owner Keith Kouris told RiverheadLOCAL today.
The bakery will open up in the building just east of McDermott Avenue, where a Ralph's Italian Ices franchise plans to open its doors for business in April. See prior story.
"We're very, very excited to be opening a Riverhead location," Kouris said. "We like what's going on downtown. We live in Riverhead ourselves and we love Riverhead," Kouris said.
Kouris said he and his wife have been looking at space in Riverhead for more than a year. Originally, he said, they were looking for larger space, on the order of 10,000 square feet, that could also accommodate a a large production facility. They have a wholesale artisan bread business serving locations across Long Island and into Manhattan, Kouris said. They're still actively looking, hoping to find the right building or land for sale.
Nevertheless, there will be plenty of baking on premises at the new bake shop-cafe, which will occupy a 2,000-square-foot shop — along with Ralph's and a third tenant, yet to be determined — in a the former discount automotive store site.
Kouris said there will be tables to seat 16 people plus a stand-up bar. An architect is working on the configuration of space.
"We plan to be open sometime in June," Kouris said.
Richmond Realty, which owns the building, is currently doing renovations that include creating a recessed storefront along the sidewalk.
"We'll have a couple of tables and a bench outside, too," Kouris said.
Just like its counterparts in Southampton and Southold, the shop will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., later on summer nights, Kouris said. It will employ eight to 10 people year-round with an additional six people in the warm weather, Kouris estimates.
"I'm ecstatic," Supervisor Sean Walter said about the new bakery-cafe. "I can't even express how happy I am," he said. "With Ralph's and the bike store coming in," Walter said referring to Twin Forks Bicycles moving to Main Street from its present location on Osborn Avenue, "it's just the kind of infilling we need to see," he said, reiterating his oft-stated belief about revitalizing downtown Riverhead "store by store and block by block."
The Blue Duck opened its first locaiton in Southampton in 1999, Kouris said. It opened a second shop in Southold four years ago. The cafe sells baked good, soups, salads and sanwiches.