Grab Your Knife and Fork

This spring, La Grange Inn reopened, under the ownership of Dennis Garren, who has over 30 years in the food and entertainment industries, and partners Scott DiDonna and David Russo. It took a commitment of the new ownership as well as several dedicated community members to get the historic landmark back in use in the community.

According to Garren, requests to use a catering hall have been quite frequent. He also feels there is a need to open the La Grange as a restaurant for lunch and dinner. Garren said he is looking to do that sometime around July 4. "The community wants it," he said of opening La Grange has a restaurant in addition to a catering hall. 

La Grange has quite a history. It was an inn that was used as a stopover for stagecoaches going from Jamaica, Queens to Patchogue as far back as 1790.

It was also has quite a recent history. There was a proposal to open up a Walgreen's on the site a few years ago, but that proposal was defeated by concerned West Islip residents who wanted to preserve the look of the historic site. The La Grange Task Force, now called the West Islip Association, fought to have the site preserved.

After the inn sat idle for over a year, Garren saw an opportunity and renovated La Grange to a viable catering hall. It has now been restored to its past days when it was owned by Willy Stukenbroker and Herman Junge and then Uwe Paulssen. "The feedback we have gotten back so far has been wonderful. The parties that we've done have been wonderful. It's going in the right direction. [But] we have to open the restaurant," Garren said. 

The restaurant will be family-oriented and have large portions as a reasonable rate in addition to the catering hall that currently serves as the setting for upscale parties at competitive prices, according to Garren. "Everything is made fresh. We're big on presentations," he said. 

The inn has been accommodating local organizations and groups who want to use the catering hall. On Wednesday, May 12, the West Islip Summit Coalition held their annual community forum at La Grange. This Thursday, La Grange will be the location of the "Fun in the Sun" fashion show. Next Thursday, June 24, La Grange will host the West Islip High School pre-prom party.