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.
By Michael Campbell
Tullulah’s 18-year run at 4th Avenue in Bay Shore is over.
But the new American bar and restaurant does have plans to move to a newer and larger location at nearby 56 West Main Street, across the road from Salt & Barrel.
In the meantime, the lights are off at the old haunt, where the lease was up.
The owners held a last-hurrah party Saturday. The place was packed with regulars, friends and fellow business owners from Bay Shore, many of whom had supported Tullulah’s when it first opened as a sandwich shop back in 2006.
Looking back, and forward
Tullulah’s founder Steven Scalesse, a chef by trade, was just 24 when he opened in the downtown.
He said the restaurant’s evolution parallels his own stages of life.
“Version one of Tullah’s was a cool little sandwich shop where we did a few nights of tapas,” he said. ” Second version is what we see today, and then the third version is what we’re going to.”
He called the third version, of which no opening date has been set, “adult Tullulah’s.”
RESTAURANT WEEK HAPPENING NOW
And Scalesse is looking forward to a number of upgrades, as the new space will measure a healthy 4,000 square feet, good for an additional 500 square feet from the 4th Avenue spot.
The Main Street space will also have a larger, state-of-the-art kitchen and a huge outdoor patio. And since there won’t be any tenants above Tullulah’s in the new building, they’ll be able to keep later hours, possibly until 2 or 3 a.m.
Head chef Stephen Branciforte is also moving to the new location with Scalesse.
“[Branciforte] and I are just on the same wavelength all the way through and through,” Scalesse said. “He knows how I love to run the kitchen. He runs the kitchen the same exact way. And he brings new things to the kitchen.”
And new things are always on the menu at Tullulah’s.
“We never wanna cook the same thing more than three months,” Scalesse said.
One longtime patron who became a close friend over the 18 years, Chris Balcerak, had been coming to the location since he was just a teenager. He also lived in an apartment above Tullulah’s at one point. He described Scalesse as something of a father figure.
As the night grew even more sentimental, Balcerak proceeded to carry over 12 notebooks filled with messages inscribed by customers throughout the years.
Flipping through it, the notes commemorated birthdays, first dates, anniversaries and other holidays and memories.
“Always good to eat some good…and drink some good…and see some good on the old stompin grounds. Keep up the good work,” reads one inscription.
“We love the atmosphere, the smell of rich mahogany and leather bound books is amazing. Stay classy Bayshore (sic)!” read another dated “9/20/13.”
Countless more notebooks were packed away in storage.
Top: Seamus Hickey, bartender, and John Hanley, bar manager, at Tullulah’s last night, Saturday, Oct. 26, on 4th Avenue. (Credit: Michael Campbell)
