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Village Idiot Pub will be galloping into the OTB Racing Forum in Hauppauge this spring, just in time for the last leg of the Triple Crown, Greater Long Island has learned.
The restaurant group that’s behind the VIP chain of restaurants, as they’re locally referred, has just inked a deal with Suffolk OTB and is looking to start serving up bar food to locals and the pony players alike.
The hope is to be open before Sunday, June 8. That’s the date of The Belmont Stakes, which is running in Saratoga while Belmont gets renovated.
Related: Village Idiot Pub takes over Kenny’s on the Green space at Indian Island
Silver Lining Restaurant Group — with co-owner Tim Kelly and a consultant, Mike Krohn, involved in this particular project — signed a three-year lease for the space.
The ultimate plan is to install a roll-down gate that would allow VIP to operate as a community gathering place even after betting hours.
As of now, the Racing Forum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Soon we’ll be able to operate our own hours, with live music, a happy hour,” said John Sarno of Silver Lining, which currently operates three Village Idiot Pub locations in Patchogue, Oakdale and Lake Grove, as well as Drift 82 and Chops Steakhouse in Patchogue, and Castaways in Port Jefferson.
The Hauppauge VIP location will start with a menu that’s scaled down from the other, full-service VIP locations. “But then we’ll expand from there, depending on how things go,” Sarno said.
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— courtesy photo
