Owner Shares Vision For North Fork Hotel, Spa, Wine 'Immersion'

NORTH FORK, NY — The new owner of the parcel where the Peconic Bay Winery was once sited on Main Road in Cutchogue has a vision: A boutique hotel and restaurant focusing on the local abundance of the land, where guests can immerse themselves in the winemaking experience.

The new hotel and spa will feature 40 rooms, said Stacey Soloviev, whose business partner and former husband Stefan Soloviev purchased the 53-acre parcel in 2019.

Plans include the hotel, spa, and roadside shops that capture the essence of the business, including cheese and wine, she said.

The project, Stacey Soloviev said, is still in the design phase; the main building will feature 10 to 15 rooms, adhering to Southold guidelines regulating rooms sizes to 400 square feet each, she said.

In addition, there will be separate bungalows with four rooms in each.

Chef Noah Schwartz — who also teamed up with Soloviev to help breathe new life into the Chequit on Shelter Island; the property was purchased by Stefan Soloviev's company Crossroads Ag in 2020 —will be coming onboard for the restaurant.

Stacey Soloviev said while she and Schwartz on the design and cuisine: "With all of our restaurants the vision is to locally grow and raise most of the food that will be served. Everything else will be locally sourced when possible."

Schwartz, she said, "has great relationships with local farmers and fisherman and always looks to incorporate their amazing productinto his dishes.

Her vision is one Stacey has described for months, never wavering from her plans for the property; she has described it in detail in previous posts and articles.

"My vision is a total immersion into wine, from the guests participating and/or getting to witness firsthand growing the grapes, the harvesting thereof, to the winemaking and bottling," she said. "It is important to me for people to be part of the process, to see where their food comes from and to understand the quality of soil and farming techniques and to really see what that entails."

With some expressing concerns about the project, Stacey said, "People have asked, 'Why this space?' We farm a lot of land on the North Fork but this is our only commercially zoned acreage, and it is located on one of our vineyards, so it is the ideal place for this type of project."

But although many have spoken out about their fears regarding development, Stacey set out to reassure: "I am not just a business owner, but also a mother and resident here and I have given a lot of thought to this project and feel its size and scope is appropriate in the business hamlet where it is proposed."

The parcel, she said, is zoned to build 74,000 square feet and the project planned will encompass far less than that.

"I know traffic is a big concern for the community, as it is for me, and we will do whatever we can to ameliorate it. For instance, the entrance and exit to the hotel are further down from the King Kullen, near where the farmstand is now so as to not compete with the shopping center and we may propose that a right turn only may be made when exiting the property," she said.

Stacey said there is no dedicated wedding or events space planned for the parcel. "That is not to say that there will never be a wedding or event on the property, but my main focus is to create a peaceful and tranquil space."

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell discussed the proposal with Patch: "It only a concept at this point. I'm sure issues of scale, scope and size will need to be addressed. The current plan, without changes, would be outside of the character of Cutchogue," he said. "I look forward to the town working with the owner to shape a project that enhances that character, not fundamentally change it. I'm sure the applicants want that, too."

Stacey Soloviev said her plans are for an intimate space with a focus on farming and an immersion into the wine experience. She also plans to continue to offer small, hometown events such as movie nights for the community, just as she had in recent months.

Stacey, who also resurrected Santa's Christmas Tree Farm in Cutchogue, which Soloviev purchased in 2019, has told Patch in past interviews said that her heart lies on the North Fork, not just with properties but with its people.

She has hosted "Sensitive Santa" events for kids with special needs at the Christmas tree shop, and also organized ice-skating events for Scouts and families at the farm. She has also donated to local philanthropic organizations and as a mother with 11 children, has said she is passionate about helping kids.

That's why, she said, she is not quite sure why she is facing backlash over the project at the former Peconic Bay Winery. "We have been farming on the North Fork since 2011," she said. "I have been very public and upfront with my plans to build this hotel in articles dating back to 2020, and also in 2021. This is not a new surprise and development; I have always been very forthcoming. I work very hard at preserving farmland and buildings and businesses that have been here," she said. "It is the same with this project."