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Momo’s Sports Bar & Grill in Holbrook is closing its doors after 16 years, and the owners are planning one last celebration before the lights go out.
Rich and Tracey Comunale, who also operate Momo’s Too in Bayport, announced they will host an “End of an Era Party” on Saturday, Nov. 22, featuring live music from Tony Sidito from 2 to 5 p.m. and a DJ from 8 p.m. to midnight.
The Comunales shared the news in a flyer this week, calling the decision “difficult” and thanking patrons for supporting the business throughout its run. “Because of every person who has supported Momo’s, you also helped support my family and my incredible staff,” they wrote, adding that the community has been part of their lives through “marriage, loss, babies born and more.”
The Holbrook location, at 350 Union Ave., became a neighborhood, and its success led to the opening of Momo’s Too in the old Parrot Bar & Grill building in Bayport.
Rich Comunale, a Patchogue–Medford High School alumnus, said the decision to close the Holbrook bar and grill comes with a mix of gratitude and sadness.
“Bittersweet might be kind of a perfect word,” he told Greater Long Island. “I’m definitely sad over it. I guess everybody buys a business to sell it one day, and after 16 and a half years… it’s just time.”
Comunale said what he’ll miss most isn’t the day-to-day operation of a sports bar: It’s the people who made it feel like home.
“All the relationships — that’s what I’ll miss,” he said. “My family pretty much originated from Momo’s. I met my wife at The Parrot. It gave me my house, my kids… it gave me my life.”
The upcoming farewell party on Nov. 22, he added, is less a blowout and more a personal mission.
“It’s legit me trying to say thank you to everyone,” Comunale said. “These next few weeks are my days to just say thank you.”
The exact closing date hasn’t been set, but the restaurant will likely remain open into December. What comes next for the space will be up to the new owners — Momo’s will not continue under the incoming operator’s name.
Comunale said he and his wife are looking ahead to their next chapter, while maintaining Momo’s Too in Bayport.
“Me and my wife are getting into real estate,” he said. “She does interior design, I’m already a licensed real estate agent.”
Still, saying goodbye won’t be easy.
“Just being frank with you — it’s sad. It’s definitely sad,” Comunale said. “But it’s time for my wife’s next chapter, and we’re ready for that.”
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