Love Lane's Village Cheese Shop Not Expanding To Greenport

MATTITUCK, NY — Although there were plans for popular Village Cheese Shop on Love Lane in Mattituck to expand to Greenport, owner Michael Affatato, in a heartfelt letter to the community, explained why he's decided not to move forward with those plans, for now.

Here is his letter, explaining the decision.

"Although many of you have already spoken to me in person about this, I wanted to put a formal explanation in writing.

"The short version is simply 'timing'. The seller of the building at 19 Front Street in Greenport — who is a personal friend but will remain unnamed here — needed a tenant too quickly for me to have had the time to complete the enormous demolition/renovation necessary. The space has never been used for food handling and the work required in setting up the space would have been very time consuming and prohibitively expensive, just as winter sets in.

"Add to this the fact that, given the large size of the store, I really required at least two full-time 'visionary' partners to help me correctly and effectively run the store while still maintaining the same customer service and attention at the Love Lane flagship location.

"Lastly — and perhaps most importantly — the Love Lane flagship store is busier than ever, requiring more of my attention than ever before. While the prospect of expanding my business is always attractive and tempting, it took this expensive and stressful exercise for me to once again realize how grateful I am for Love Lane. It truly is a special place with an amazing staff and the kindest, most sophisticated — and loyal — clientèle. I'm putting all of my efforts and investments into her and plan on being around for a very, very long time.

"With that in mind, I wanted to grant a global 10% discount on anything in the shop to anyone who presents a driver's license showing an address in Greenport, East Marion or Orient Point, as I understand your disappointment in not having the cheese shop in your neighborhood. I appreciate the miles you put on to come see us, and wanted to offer something for your fidelity. Please present your driver's license to any member of our staff when checking out to receive ten percent off, even café service, from now till December 31, 2017," he said.

"Thank you again for your patronage, friendship and support, and remember to come see us this Friday, Sept 1 for our Love Lane First Friday street fair, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Next month will be the last fête for 2017," Affatato said.

Patch courtesy photos.