Kids & Family

Galley Ho Will Become New Cafe

The Galley Ho will ultimately be reborn as a New Suffolk cafe that captures the same ambiance.

New Suffolk's historic Galley Ho is about to be reborn.

The wooden building that once housed the Galley Ho restaurant in New Suffolk was moved to a new location Saturday, farther away from the bay.

For decades, the eatery stood only 18 feet from Peconic Bay on the small New Suffolk waterfront property at the end of New Suffolk Road.

Hurricane Sandy, however, wreaked havoc on the structure’s aging foundation and bulkhead -- and members of the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund decided that it was time to relocate the old Galley Ho.

"I'm relieved that we got the Galley Ho moved," said Barbara Schnitzler, chair of the New Suffolk Waterfront Fund on Monday.

The group owns the building and the property and supports efforts to maintain the building through fundraising. Moving the Galley Ho cost $17,000, Schnitzler said.

The building, she said, is now stabilized and sitting on a "crib;" the original fondation was lost after Hurricane Sandy. 

On Saturday, the building was moved to a new, temporary location, Schnitzler said. Once a new foundation is built, the building will be moved again, to its permanent new location.

Originally, the Galley Ho sat only 18 feet from the bulkhead, in an extreme flood zone -- the bulkhead was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy -- but after its final move, the building will be sited 90 feet from the bulkhead.

"We could look at the storm as a blessing in disguise," Schnitzler said. "Now, we're going to do it right. Hopefully, it will be there forever."

The Galley Ho structure, Schnitzler said, is "in good shape."

Built around the turn of the 20th century, the building, which is a recognized landmark, was once located on the beach and was later moved -- a relative of the Davis Construction family that moved the building on Saturday.

The Galley Ho, Schnitzler said, touches a deep chord for many New Suffolk residents. "It's a personal landmark for many people who spent many years at the bar, or on the deck," she said. "It was really important for us to save it. It's iconic."

The decision to save the building made not only good financial sense, but was also an environmentally wise choice, Schnitzler said. 

"It's not being demolished and going into a Dumpster," she said.

At the moment, Schnitzler said, the Galley Ho "looks quite shabby. It took a beating during the storm."

Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the structure -- the entire "fireplace" room, which was sited on a slab foundation, was lost and had to be demolished.

"But we still have 50 feet of Galley Ho -- and it will serve us well," Schnitzler said.

Looking ahead, Schnitzler said the Southold Town zoning board of appeals recently approved a cafe use on the property.

When asked about a timeline for the new eatery, Schnitzler said funds need to be raised first for operating expenses. Before that, she added, funds will be raised to have the bulkhead repaired; grading will also be undertaken to "level out" the property.

Then, Schnitzler said, renovations will commence on the Galley Ho, including a new septic system.

"It's a big undertaking," she said. "We've always known this was a project that would take time, but we're doing it -- and the community has really rallied   behind it."

The new restaurant will have the same feeling as the Galley Ho, but on a smaller scale, with 66 seats instead of 95 and an outdoor deck. "We want to make it a very relaxed place but maintain the character and the atmosphere of what was there," she said.

Some naysayers have voiced displeasure with the building's appearance, Schnitzler said. "We've had people who've said, 'It looks so bad; you've got to tear that thing down,'" she said. "But it's very hard, even if you measure, and try to duplicate something that's lost, if it's not the original. I think initially people were skeptical, and may have thought it was not worth the money. But it is worth preserving our history, and our character -- we want to keep it the way it was."

A series of fundraisers will be held throughout the year to help raise money to restore the Galley Ho. Among them are a direct donation appeal, a chowder fest, to be held on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, a house tour in New Suffolk on July 20, and an oyster and champagne cocktail party with an art auction, to be held at a "very cool, secret location" in New Suffolk in the fall, she said.

So far, the group has raised $1.5 million, along with a state grant of $400,000, to purchase the parcel and the building. In addition, funds will be raised through the sale of an acre of the south piece of the property to Louis Moore Bacon, owner of Robins Island and head of Robins Island Holdings, LLC.

Bacon, a noted hedge fund trader and head of Moore Capital Management, has proposed the creation of a maritime grassland preserve with a portion for seasonal parking and the addition of a small boat shed to an existing building on the property. 

"It took awhile but we’re really happy with the outcome," Schnitzler said. "It's the best outcome we could have hoped for. This won’t increase traffic or density, and it allows us to finish the acquisition and preserve the viewshed. It's a really good resolution and we're thankful."

Watching the Galley Ho be moved, Schnitzler said, was "really exciting. I was thrilled, because I've been working on this a long time."

Most important, Schnitzler said, the Galley Ho is now stable. "It stood for months without a foundation, and very close to the water, and we'd lost the bulkhead -- it was very vulnerable. We're really happy it's out of harm's way."

Schnitzler reminded that the current location is temporary; a community meeting will be held in the spring to unveil a site plan and a model for the Galley Ho's permanent location and new design.


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