Distillery Incubator Proposed for Former Lewis Marine in Greenport, Neighbors Weigh In

A distillery could soon be opening its doors at the site of the former Lewis Marine building in Greenport.

According to the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, the new business, Matchbook Distilling Company, founded by Leslie Merinoff and Brian Kwasnieski, will be located at 230 Corwin Street.

A total cost, including purchase price, renovations, and equipment, is expected to come in at $2.224 million, Suffolk County IDA Associate Director John McNally told Patch Monday.

They owners “came to us for tax abatements eand exemptions” and the project received preliminary approval at a meeting last week, giving the green light for negotiations to ensue, McNally said.

The distillery incubator will allow farmers growing potatoes, carrots and other crops to distill whatever types of spirits they’d like to produce, he said.

“We’re excited about it,” McNalley said. “Anything that can support our local economy, create jobs, and also our local agricultural community, giving them another outlet to utilize for their crops, is a good thing.”

The business is expected to create 11 new jobs over the next two years, after the operation opens, he added.

While some have turned to social media and lauded what they feel is a “great use” for the property, others have reservations.

Rosemary Gabriel, who lives on 7th Street, said while she doesn’t like the idea of a distillery in her bucolic neighborhood, Lewis Marine was at the site for many years. The site is “all asphaplt and prefab,” she said. “Almost anything would be an improvement on that Lewis property.”

She said while it’s “not unreasonable” to see the distillery sited on a parcel that’s zoned for light industrial use, she’s rather see a sports complex for teenagers on the site. “But thinking it’s not going to be slightly commercial or light industry would be a fantasy,“ she said. “I just wish it wasn’t a distillery.“

In September, Gabriel and other neighbors turned out at the Southold planning board to protest a site plan for an electrical contractor’s yard, proposed for 620 Corwin Street, stating concerns over noise, safety and traffic in their residential neighborhood.

Gabriel said on Monday that the Lewis parcel is more aptly suited for commercial business than the wooded triangular parcel located at 620 Corwin.

Patch photo courtesy of Google images.