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After being vacant for over a year, the historic Jon Thomas Inne officially has a new tenant: LuLu’s Lobster and Wing Shack.
Lulu’s, located at 388 Medford Ave. in Patchogue, is a nautical-themed, seafood and wings restaurant with an endless summer vibe, and owner Kerilee Hurley is bringing that concept to Brightwaters.
Hurley is aiming to open her second LuLu’s Lobster and Wing Shack location — this one at 91 Howell’s Road — by the end of 2020.
“We’re going to have more options than just lobsters. We do steaks, wings, but it’s going to be a little bit more higher-end,” Hurley said. “We are going to still keep it ‘Inne-y,’ like the Jon Thomas Inne — we don’t want to change it too much because there’s so much history to it, we’re just going put a little LuLu’s spin on it.”
The owner will be making some renovations, like re-doing the floors within the space, painting the interior, setting up the kitchen for operations. However, the overall structure of the place, like the bar and dining rooms, will remain the same.
The exterior landscaping will be changed to look like a dock, to fit the restaurant’s nautical theme.
Hurley said she hopes to add another option for seafood dining in the Bay Shore and Brightwaters community.
“I was told there really is not much seafood, aside for the restaurants on the water over there,” Hurley said. “So we’re really trying to bring seafood, our wings, our steaks, just something a little different from the usual places out there.”
LuLu’s also serves lobster rolls, shrimp, clams, and big seafood towers.
Working in the restaurant and food industry isn’t something new to Hurley and her family.
Her father Joe Crennan, operations manager, helped launch LuLu’s Lobster and Wing Shack in Patchogue back in 2018, while her sister Kelli Marcus owns Kelli’s Grille and Wing House in Smithtown.
Before then, the Crennans previously owned a chain of steak restaurants called Butcher Boys Steakhouse.
Hurley has managed LuLu’s for almost three years — the restaurant name being her nickname growing up — and Crennan praised her for expanding LuLu’s brand.
“It’s nice having a woman-owned business in the town,” Crennan said. “A problem with a lot of these places going in is that they don’t have a food background — they’ve worked with servers, bussers, bartenders, so she’s got the edge over that.”
Hurley said she is grateful to be able to open a second location and have the Bay Shore and Brightwaters residents become part of the LuLu’s family.
“You work so hard on a place, it feels like it’s your baby,” Hurley said. “To be able to expand is a great feeling.”
For those not familiar with LuLu’s Lobster and Wing Shack, below are photos of the seafood spot.
For more information and updates, visit their website and Facebook page.
Top: Lulu’s owner Keri Hurley at the original Patchogue location
