Greater Bay Shore coverage is funded in part by Shoregate, now leasing brand-new premium apartment homes in the heart of Bay Shore. Click here to schedule a tour.
Update (Jan. 14, 2018): Click here for an Ocean Bay House photo tour.
Original post: The rooms on the top floor of The Ocean Bay House bed and breakfast that’s in the works in Bay Shore are all done and ready for staging. The first and second floors will soon follow.
The plan is to open at 69 North Ocean Avenue in early July.
(Update: Management is now looking at a winter or spring of 2018 opening.)
The Ocean Bay House’s general manager, B&B veteran Colleen McGrath, says the South Shore is abuzz with new restaurants, breweries, and the beaches — so a B&B is a no brainer.
And, given its location on Watchogue Creek, Ocean Bay House offers the option for boat-up lodging.
“If guests miss their ferry they can take a water taxi back” she said.
The grand colonial was built in 1890 for entertaining, and was originally an annex to the Prospect House, which was large enough to accommodate 200 visitors before it burned in 1903, according to the Bay Shore Historical Society website.
New owners Rodney Sloup and Paul Albarano began plans for the B&B about two years ago.
The first order of business was to install a 16×32 foot in-ground pool.
McGrath, also a personal chef and caterer, had managed a top B&B, Seatuck Cove House, in Eastport for about 15 years before looking for a change and, ultimately, meeting Sloup and Albarano.
She said they’ve all been on the same page about what’s right for the B&B all along.
(Seatuck has since closed and is now a private residence.)
“This is going to offer something for everybody’s taste,” McGrath said, stressing that even though it’s a bed-and-breakfast being built in a 19th Century building, it’s going to offer all modern amenities.
Plus, from The Ocean Bay House it’s a short walk to both the ferry terminals and Main Street.
She not only brings the experience of operating a South Shore B&B, she also has a veritable rolodex of longtime regular Seatuck Cove guests that have turned into friends and text her each summer to ready a room.
Now, instead of the Hamptons area, those people will be heading to Bay Shore.
Check back at GreaterBayshore for updates!
The shots below were taken Thursday on the top floor.
