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The beloved Relish in Kings Park is getting an outdoor makeover.
Owner Don Brown said this summer, the restaurant is undergoing outdoor renovations and adding a wrap-around patio.
“It’s something I wanted to do for quite a while,” Brown said. “We had the outside seating with the tent, but it’s kind of like mish-mash — it’s not comfortable seating and it’s another reminder of COVID.”
The renovations entail an extension of the front of the building, shutting off the left front entrance which will allow a larger vestibule.
The patio will wrap around the left front and down the left side of the establishment.
Servers will have a new service station, which gives the restaurant the ability to move from just beer and wine to now a full liquor and specialty drink menu, Brown says.
Like Relish’s Hauppauge location, they are adding an awning to the new outdoor space.
The plan is to make it a full, year-round outside seating with panels that can be lifted up and closed, depending on the weather.
Brown said the changes give the customers more room and an overall better dining experience where they can enjoy the warmer months of the year.
“We can also do a party,” he said. “We used to have a lot of people requesting to do a communion or whatever, and this will actually be able to accommodate that for parties up to 35 or 40.”
There is installing blacktop work and ADA-compliant railings to make the entrance accessible.
The owner says the restaurant might be closed a few Mondays here and there, but is hoping to remain open throughout construction.
Once that’s completed, construction can start on the patio, which Brown hopes he can start utilizing in about a month.
The awning will be up by late August, since there is a current high-demand for them. In the meantime, Brown said the restaurant will provide umbrellas at tables to keep customers shaded.
He is aiming to be 100 percent done with the renovations by September.
“We’ll be the only game in town with real outdoor seating, in all of Kings Park,” Brown said. “I’m friends with a lot of restaurant owners in town and a lot of them are looking to start investing in that also — when we have more people in town with it, then we can draw more people from outside the area, so it helps everybody.”
Relish Kings Park is located at 2 Pulaski Road. For more information or updates on its renovations, visit the restaurant’s website or Facebook page.
