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The owners of the brand-new pub The Local in Babylon got right to work when they took over the Twisted Shamrock near the Long Island Rail Road station in May.
What they accomplished in just a few months is remarkable.
Literally, since opening, co-owner Tim Gay has overheard many remarking about how great the place looked — and how they couldn’t believe they were dining in what was the old Shamrock.
“For the people who knew what this place looked like beforehand, they were just in awe with what we could do in such a short time,” said Gay. “Just the look on people’s faces … “
The Twisted Shamrock was a place for Bud and Coors, live music and Quick Draw. (Still good times, we admit.) But The Local is will be the spot for European beer and modern, elevated takes on pub favorites such as the pastrami sandwich.
The pastrami sandwich at The Local looks like this: NY style pastrami, swiss cheese, tangy brussels slaw, granny smith apples and honey whole grain mustard on artisanal rye.
“We took some of the traditional components — pastrami, rye — and got a little playful,” said The Local’s executive chef, Christopher Weiss, 33, of Mount Sinai. “We put some apples in there to cut some of the fat. And then the honey whole grain mustard I make.”
Weiss hopes that all the condiments at The Local to be made in-house, eventually, he said.
The chef most recently helped launch the new H20 in East Islip, which opened last year. He’s also gotten restaurants started in Charlestown, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., and worked at other foodie-centric cities in the South.
The team at The Local, located at 7 Depot Place, unlocked its doors Thursday to a soft opening and has been open to the public ever since.
The front entryway has been moved away from the street and instead now fronts the LIRR parking lot.
There’s a new facade, windows, and modern trim and finish inside and out.
The original idea was for a German beer hall featuring European beers, but that concept quickly evolved, Gay explained.
“We have 15 TV’s on the walls so it does have that sports bar feel, too,” he said. “Yet we have these gourmet sandwiches so it definitely became more of a hybrid.”
Gay is a longtime bartender at The Villager, also in Babylon. With The Local, he’s joined by co-owner Brendan Crowe and the rest of the Lily Flanagan’s and Villager owners.
The ownership team went with the European beer offerings to fill a void in Babylon, — and the island in general, Gay said.
“European beers are obviously a pretty big market but there isn’t a lot of people serving them, and certainly not here,” he explained. “They have such rich history, especially with the purity laws. Some of the breweries up on this wall [being served at The Local] have been around since the 1500s.
“This is quality stuff that not enough people know about, so we figured to bring it to the village, rather than the same craft beer thing.
“Now we have our own little niche.”
IF YOU GO
The Local will be open for dinner-only, to start, from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m on weekdays and 12 p.m to 3 a.m. on weekends.
Definitely check out the Crispy Southern Fried Chicken ($11). During Weiss’s time in the South, he managed to get a fried chicken recipe from an older Southern woman who wasn’t exactly eager to share it — so he had to beg.
“She used to shake it all up in a brown paper bag,” he said.
Scroll down for the full menu.
You can also follow The Local on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
