After the lights went out at Toast Coffeehouse in Port Jefferson this summer, the hole in the spot where people had gathered for funky and filling breakfasts for decades was deeply felt.
It was a place that had become almost as synonymous with the village as its harborfront.
But Terry Scarlatos — Toast’s founder who moved the legendary restaurant up to Port Jefferson Station this fall — is looking forward to his newest concept that will replace the old Toast.
“I am very excited,” he said in a recent interview with GreaterLongIsland.
Well, it’s not exactly a new concept.
It’s a call back of sorts.
Back in the day, for a brief time, Toast Coffeehouse became Toast at Night, serving up tapas, wine and live music. (And once upon a time, Toast hosted a pop-up restaurant where the chefs foraged for their own hyperlocal ingredients.)
Scarlatos thought he might be able to revive the idea of fine dining at night with the unused space.
The idea for Revival by Toast was born. You might even call it a comeback.
Partnering with chef Scott Andriani, Revival by Toast is getting ready to open this December, just in time for the Dickens Festival that will bring thousands of hungry visitors to the village.
The interior has been redone in an upscale theme with a nautical touch.
“We did a major upgrade,” Scarlatos said. “Scott and his team came in and did an amazing job renovating.”
Andriani worked as designer on the interior, calling the look of the new restaurant “vintage Port Jefferson style, with an upscale nautical style.”
The decor is textured and cozy. There are accents that are clearly nautical, such as the knotted rope that’s stretched, twisted and hanging between the bar area.
The dining room was furnished with materials that came from a shipyard in Northport.
Then there’s the exposed brick and plastered walls that would seem at home in any New England downtown.
“People will recognize it as Toast, but it’s a new Toast,” he said. “It has the soul of Toast.”
But it is clearly not Toast.
The team is going for a shared, small-plate experience that Scarlatos describes as “farm-forward.”
“It’s not farm-to-table,” he said. “We will be sourcing from the best farms we can. We will have Long Island cuisine first and foremost, but also wagyu beef from Japan, fish from the North Pacific.”
For instance, there’s a Niegocki Farm Onsen Tamago, a slow-cooked egg appetizer sourced from a Mount Sinai farm, alongside a glazed wagyu yakitori on the small plates menu.
Eventually, the hope is repeat patrons will trust them enough to serve up a chef’s choice dining night consisting of a four-to-five-course tasting menu (what Andriani calls a short story), or an eight-to-ten course long story.
The tasting menu would always include a vegetarian option.
Chef’s choice dining will be by reservation only.
Andriani made good use of the existing space when he designed the new restaurant. The bar was expanded from eight to 22 seats, and there are 15 tables with seating for 46 people.
Even with all the changes to the interior and the menu, there is still a Toast-like feel to the new splace.
And that is on purpose.
“We didn’t want people to say they got rid of Toast,” Andriani said.
At first, Revival by Toast will be open Wednesdays to Sundays in the evenings, with plans to bring back Sunday brunch at some point. The exact opening date hasn’t yet been announced.
Check out greaterportjeff.com or the Toast website for updates.
They are also still looking for more staffers to join their team.
Call 631-480-8700 to inquire.
