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Babylon Social Restaurant has announced a spring opening in Babylon.
Taking up shop in the former Horace & Sylvia’s location, which operated from 2004 to 2024 in the heart of the village, the ownership team promises top-notch brick oven pizza, craft beer and cocktails, and an elevated pub menu that will have “something for everybody.”
Industry veterans James Economou, 36, of Port Jefferson, and Chris Cappiello, 35, from E. Quogue, have partnered on the project. Between them, they’ve had ownership stake in four restaurants on Long Island and NYC.
The pair immediately hit it off after meeting at a bar out in eastern Suffolk County a couple years ago.
“I told [Chris], I have a feeling we’re going to do something together,” Economou recalled.
That day came when they got the keys to 100 Deer Park Ave. on Dec. 19. Come January, they said, with the encouragement of the village, they started work on transforming the space.
Locals, especially oldtimers, lit up when the old Horace & Sylvia’s sign was removed at the historic building, revealing an ancient sign for Breitbard’s Department Store.
This was from the Village of Babylon Historical & Preservation Society:
“Thousands of people on Facebook were going crazy,” Economou said of the sign reveal. Despite the building’s historic nature, the interior will be all-modern, with a roll-up garage door already installed. And the Babylon Social sign is up.
The inside will be unrecognizable when compared to Horace & Sylvia’s which changed ownership two years ago before closing in July. The new owners, who had purchased the business and building, were going to remodel but retain the space.
But then they got connected with Economou and Cappiello, also a co-owner of Southampton Social Club and Union Burger Bar on the East End — and handed them the storefront.
The design vision is industrial chic, the newly minted partners said, with blacks, whites and golds throughout. The brick pizza oven will take center stage, both for function and decor.
The food will range from Italian to American, with even some Asian influences.
“We’re not going to bring the standard fare to your table,” Economou insists. “This will be an incredibly palleted menu” with a range, he added, that you won’t find anywhere else.
They’re keeping the full menu under lock and key for now, however.
“But it’s not an Italian restaurant,” said Economou.
Check back with Greater Long Island for sneak peek photos when Babylon Social Restaurant is camera ready.
Follow their journey
Top: James Economou, 36 of Port Jefferson, and Chris Cappiello, 35, from E. Quogue, inside Babylon Social Restaurant, which is under construction at 100 Deer Park Ave. in Babylon Village, at the former Horace & Sylvia’s restaurant. (Nick Esposito)
