The owners of The Argyle announced in mid-June the beloved restaurant would close after a quarter-century run in Babylon Village.
And the very last call, they said, would be June 30.
The news took many on the South Shore by surprise. Memories started to pour in over social media.
“I remember when they first opened,” Jenn Perri Zembreski wrote on the Greater Babylon Facebook feed. “I worked at an office right down the block and we’d go there for lunch sometimes. It was the first contemporary restaurant in the village and what changed the scene in Babylon.
“We’ve seen some really great restaurants open and I can’t help but think it was the Argyle that started [the change] almost 25 years ago.”
It at first appeared The Argyle would be lost, with new owners and a new name and concept planned for the Deer Park Avenue storefront, just north of Main Street.
But the rapidly expanding Lily Flanagan’s Restaurant Group, which was already operated three popular bars and restaurants in the village, ultimately stepped in to rescue The Argyle from the proverbial wrecking ball.
“It’s a staple in Babylon,” said Joe Flanagan (pictured), a 2012 Babylon High School graduate and longtime bartender for Lily Flanagan’s Restaurant Group. “It’s been here for ages.”
Flanagan was put at the helm, becoming a partner in the latest endeavor and lofty goal for the restaurant group: save The Argyle.
He and his team revamped the space, which had sat empty for almost 5 months.
Lily’s reopened the Argyle to immediate fanfare on Nov. 21.
For the relative newcomers, before The Argyle took up shop at 90 Deer Park Avenue, the space previously played host to Stillman’s from the 1980’s through the 90’s.
And before Stillman’s, it was John’s Bar in the 1970’s into the 80’s.
Lily Flanagan’s Restaurant Group now runs Lily’s, The Villager and The Local in Babylon. The company also operates Oakdale Brew House and The Wharf, which are both in Oakdale, another Villager location in Farmingdale, as well as Riverhead Brew House in downtown Riverhead.
The ‘new’ Argyle
Welcome to the much-anticipated revival of the iconic Argyle restaurant.
And Flanagan — no relation to the restaurant group’s namesake — is the face of the franchise.
He’s also an easily recognized face in the village.
Flanagan knows every in and out of Babylon’s Deer Park Avenue, every line and crack in the sidewalk. A native to Babylon Village, Flanagan was born in the heart of the downtown and has worked there his entire adult life.
At 18, he started his hospitality career as a barback for Lily Flanagan’s. And for the past decade, he’s been a bartender at the The Villager, also on Deer Park Avenue.
He and his team worked for months on refreshing the vacated Argyle space, which reopened with new flooring, upgraded LED lights, reupholstered seats, and a deep cleaning.
Still, the restaurant’s bones remained strong.
“When they built this place, they didn’t spare a penny,” he told Greater Long Island.
“You can see it in the craftsmanship and woodwork.”
Sharp-eyed visitors may recognize some new features, such as the chandeliers from the old Garden City Hotel and a vintage angel figure from the former Oak Beach Inn.
But what else is in store at the “new’ Argyle?
“Think chophouse, fine wines, bourbons and cocktails,” the team said.
Some fan-favorite dishes and cocktails also remained on The Argyle’s menu, such as the skirt steak and memorable watermelon martinis.
Flanagan vows that people will love the food and drinks, along with the trip down memory lane within a beloved Long Island spot whose patronage has spanned generations.
Everyone who comes “ is going to be very happy, very pleased,” he said.
