La Casa Cafe's New Lease on Life

recently renewed a 10-year lease with two five-year options with the Town of Huntington and is planning major renovations for next year, when owner Joe Celano said the iconic Crab Meadow eatery will begin year round operations.

Celano, who also owns in Northport, said winter business at La Casa Cafe has lagged in the past, but is betting on a rejiggered formula he hopes will attract customers year round. The key ingredient? A bigger, better bar.

"If you can wait in a nice bar in a comfortable chair with a drink in front of you...you'd be set for the night," he said. The current bar and four retro armchairs in the waiting area will be scrapped in favor of a large freestanding oval bar with 40 seats, 7 televisions playing the big game, and hardwood floors which Celano hopes will be a more pleasing alternative to the old carpeting for bare-footed beachgoers.

Renovations have already started with brand new kitchens installed this winter and will continue into the dining rooms where new carpeting will be laid and the stuccoed walls of the north dining room replaced with cultured stone and inlaid with old photos of Northport. The main entrance to the restaurant will be moved from the bar area to the west dining room with a set of double doors to minimize drafts and a barrel roll canopy extending to the parking lot for cars to drop off patrons. The bathrooms will also be updated and re-tiled.

A new lunch menu is also in the works which will include more salads, paninis, wraps, and burgers. "We're trying to bring some more lunch items in for all the people on the beach that just want to grab something quick," said Celano, who said that he is still hesitant about serving whole pies, which are currently available only through a walk up window, in the dining room.

Ironically, pizza was one big reason Celano decided years ago to close his restaurant during the winter. With a limited number of tables and a large demand for seats, one pizza per table just didn't cut it. "When I first opened, you could get anything you wanted and I only had 21 tables with families that wanted to order pizza for $15 versus a couple that would order $100 worth of food. At the end of the night we were like, we're not making any money! We closed, then reopened in the summer and said no more pizza in the dining room."

Even though the pizza is still up in the air, La Casa's extensive menu won't leave you wanting-- from porkchops and pasta to seafood, chicken, and veal. "We've knocked the dinner menu down a million times but I can't find anything on this menu that doesn't sell." 

One thing he'll never get rid of is the salad bar, which is included with the meal and will now feature homemade foccacia bread from La Casa Pizza. "If people walk in and see the salad bar gone, forget it, they would not put up with it. No, no, that salad bar is staying right there," he laughed.

Celano hopes to start renovations at La Casa Cafe by October and have everything completed by January. "At that point I'm not going to close anymore, so the neighborhood will have its own little place down here."

La Casa Cafe is currently open for its summer season and will likely open up the pizza window around Mother's Day.