Piano Man Back Enjoying Greenport

GREENPORT, NY — Call him the Piano Man with a penchant for Greenport — Billy Joel once again visited the North Fork Saturday, spotted at the Deep Water Bar & Grille on Front Street.

And he wasn't alone: Joel appeared with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the photo.

Beth Pike, owner of the Deep Water Bar & Grille, said Joel walked by twice.

"One of my bartender's names is Billy Joe, and my hostess, Carolyn Schneider Fahey, told him we had a bartender with that name," Pike said. He stuck his head in the door and said 'Hello,' and it was just a very nice, pleasant thing."

Also reportedly spotted by a number of residents, both in Mattituck and at Sang Lee Farms, on both Friday and Saturday, was Marisa Tomei.

It wasn't the first time in recent months Joel has been see enjoying the village.

In June, Heather Suter, who owns Greenport Fire, a cigar and hot sauce shop on Main Street, with her husband Dale, met the music legend.

Suter, a self-professed Billy Joel fan, said she'd heard he was in the village with his wife and daughter. "I didn't know where. I looked around and didn't see anything," she said.

The shop has a collection of vintage records hanging from the ceiling, a tribute to Dale's grandfather Al Silver, who left a legacy with the legendary Herald-Ember Records — known in the 50s for hits such as "In the Still Of The Night" by the The Five Satins — and Suter said she likes to put on a concert for customers to watch.
Yesterday, she put on a Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival, where Joel was performing his many hits— and moments later, in walked the Piano Man himself.

"I turned around and he was in the store," she said, adding that Joel walked in with a friend. "I just said, 'Hi, welcome, if you have any questions, let me know."

"Great music," he told her, as his own lyrics filled the space.

She thanked him and gave him a big smile.

The rest, she said, is a bit of a blur. Joel, she said, walked around with his friend, looking at hot sauce and cigars, and checking out the concert.

Joel's friend asked about Bonnaroo and Joel chatted about the festival a bit.

Joel even played a little "air piano," she said, but "just for a couple of seconds. He was just sort of taking it all in."

Next, Suter asked if she could take a photo with Joel. "I didn't realize I was shaking until later, when I realized the photo looked a little blurry," she laughed. "I'm a big fan of his. I don't normally get all jittery, and I'm not one to ask for a photo, or walk over to a table to ask, but since it was in the shop, I thought I'd ask him."

Joel took a last glance around the shop. "He said, 'Great decor, great shop, and I wish you the best,'" she said. "It was awesome."

Her favorite Billy Joel tunes include "She's Got A Way," and, perhaps most appropriately, "We Didn't Start The Fire."

The song is especially apt for Suter and her husband because they did, in fact, start their own fire, their store Greenport Fire. "I quoted that in my hashtag yesterday," Suter said. And, on Instagram, she thanked Joel for stopping by, invited him to come by again soon — and said Joel had been "in a Greenport state of mind."

Joel has deep ties to the East End; In May, Joel, a part-time Sag Harbor resident, joined the campaign to save and rebuild the Sag Harbor Cinema with the Sag Harbor Partnership, the group said.

April Gornik, vice president of the Sag Harbor Partnership, confirmed that Billy Joel will get the "naming rights" to the popcorn stand.

"In a sense, everybody thinks Sag Harbor is their home, and Billy Joel is the most famous hometown boy we have," Gornik said. "The fact that he has stepped up in such a remarkable, generous way has just given us all such a sense of empowerment and hope — and we know he did it for love. He knows the value of the Cinema to Sag Harbor and Main Street. We're just honored to have him be a part of our efforts."

Patch photo courtesy Carolyn Schneider Fahey.