New Owners for Front Street Station in Greenport

A new day is dawning for Greenport's long-time Front Street Station restaurant.

New owners Sharon Sailor and her father David Sailor announced Sunday that they had purchased the popular Greenport eatery, located at 212 Front Street.

The restaurant will be closed through Wednesday, and re-open its doors on Thursday with the new proprietors at the helm.

"We're excited," she said.

The Sailors are well-known on the North Fork; they owned which for 10 years -- and created a warm and friendly ambiance reminiscent of "Cheers," where locals all knew one another by name.

Front Street Station will be open seven days a week, year-round, for lunch and dinner, Sailor said.

Closing DoLittle's due to a flagging economy wasn't easy, Sailor said. "It was terrible; we were very attached to everyone. My son worked there, my father worked there, it was a family. We were all upset."

But another door opened after Sailor began working at Front Street Station last year and the opportunity arose to purchase the longtime establishment.

"If I hadn't started working there, this would never have happened," she said. "It's a little bit of destiny."

Sailor, who said her family was officially slated to close on the property Monday, plans to keep the ambiance at Front Street Station the same as it has been for years.

"We're not going to make it frou-frou," she said. "We're going to stay basically the same -- we're just going to fine-tune things a little. We want to stay affordable and friendly, like Cheers," she said.

While the menu will continue to feature its traditional American fare, from light offerings to entrees, Sailor hopes to bring a few of her signature dishes from DoLittle's to the table.

"Everyone loved our fried Brie and 'James' Rigatoni,'" she said. "One woman stopped me in Handy Pantry recently and said no one has fried Brie. People have been writing to me, saying they crave 'James' rigatoni.'" 

Both items, she said, will be offered at Front Street Station.

The Sailors, who live in Mattituck, will be working together at Front Street Station, with Sailor, her father David, and son Paul Drum all teaming up for their new venture.

In addition to the father-daughter owners, Sailor's son was also known as the "heart and soul," of DoLittle's, even making a pitch to customers in the North Fork Patch directory to keep the restaurant afloat.

Greenport, Sailor believes, is the ideal location for her family's new culinary beginning. 

"Greenport has a lot of traffic," she said. "During the summer, it's touristy, and during the winter, when a lot of other restaurants close, we'll be open year-round for lunch and dinner, every day. We'll be there for everyone, all the time." 

Sailor, who said her former staff at DoLittle's was close as family, hopes to nurture those same bonds with her new Front Street Station employees. 

A sense of family and friendship, Sailor said, "is what I'm hoping to bring to both the staff and customers at Front Street Station."

Front Street Staton has a long history in the village: Built around a former diner in Greenport, it was once a popular haunt for those traving to and from the North Fork by train.