Village of Patchogue, New York

“They’ve got a big presence in the Village,” echoes Kennedy. “They started up a hospitality program which is helping to train students who could eventually wind up working in our restaurant district. Being a bit of a college town is definitely important; it’s an aspect that adds to the flavor of the downtown.” The Blue Point Brewery is another local landmark where rich history meets modern service. They’re carrying on as the lone survivor of Long Island’s microbrewery craze of the 1990s. “It’s a Long Island brewery that was founded here in Patchogue that’s since gone national,” Devlin says. “That’s kind of a feather in our cap.” Located inside a 54,000-square-foot building on the site of a former lace mill, Blue Point offers a tasting room and hosts an annual cask festival held every spring. It’s one of several casual waterfront restaurants that have sprung up on River Avenue since the Village resurrected the theater. “Not only do we have a waterfront on the Great South Bay, which runs East-West, but we have the Patchogue River, which runs North- South, and was formerly a working river,” Devlin explains. “There’s still some boat building and ferry transportation going on, but at one time it was used for oil storage and was heavily industrial. We’ve mostly been moving away from that and toward more arts and entertainment.” “Patchogue is unique in that way. It’s such an attraction that you can live and work in this community, and a lot of people do,” Kennedy affirms. “Traditionally, Long Island has developed its residential neighborhoods along the shorelines, and its industrial and business districts in the center. So, a lot of people who live along the shorelines are usually working in the middle of Long Island, whether it be in Hauppauge or Syosset or somewhere in Nassau County. But I’d say the majority of people probably work on Long Island and commute. We’re blessed to have a major hub of the Long