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Downtown Bay Shore is getting a gourmet, specialty sandwich shop where AJs Grilled Cheese used to be across from St. Patrick’s, GreaterBayShore has learned.
The Hero Joint, which launched in September 2018 in Patchogue, is now opening its second location this September on West Main Street, said owner John Murray, III.
He said customers in Patchogue and on social media have been clamoring for a Hero Joint to the west.
So Murray says he’s stepping up, and is especially excited about Bay Shore.
“It’s clear that this downtown is booming and vibrant,” said Murray, of Babylon. “I come here with my wife for dinner and there’s no parking spots to be had. They have a lot of great events, a lot of great places, and a lot of my friends already do business in Bay Shore. I couldn’t think of a better fit for The Hero Joint.”
He’s already got staffers training in the Patchogue location, eager for Bay Shore to open in September.
As for the food, Murray says Bay Shore will offer the same menu and service as Patchogue.
“The main differentiation to talk about is us versus our competition,” he said. “We use artisan bread, not the big commercial bakers that produce flavorless, cheap bread. We also roast most of our meats in-house. Our chicken is small-bird, our meatballs are made-in house, never frozen, and we’re big on meat-to-bread ratio.”
That is, they pack in the meat.
“You’ll never leave The Hero Joint hungry,” he said.
He also said fall is a good time for a new Hero Joint to open, with one of his favorite menu items, The Bird, always popular come cooler weather.
The Bird is packed with house-roasted turkey, house-made cranberry sauce and house-made stuffing on marbled sourdough bread. There will also be a steady rotation of pumpkin beers on tap through the season.
The Hero Joint’s Thanksgiving Chowder will also be available out the gate.
“The Thanksgiving Chowder won the best soup award in Patchogue at the last chili and chowder festival before the pandemic,” he noted.
“Our catering business is really picking up,” Murray said, “so this [location] will allow us to expand our catering reach as well. We just want to contribute and be participating members in the community. AJs quickly became a Bay Shore staple; they’re great people and we want to build on the community vibe that they built in this space.”
Check greaterbayshore.com or follow The Hero Joint Bay Shore on Instagram for updates.
