Southdown Coffee will be expanding into some impressive new digs spring of 2017. The café known for its high-grade specialty coffee and laid-back local vibe will be opening another building in Oyster Bay that’s a bit more commuter orientated.
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“Oyster Bay is one of few towns on Long Island where people live minutes from the beach, can walk to the train station and can walk downtown all in one,” owner Mark Boccard said. “Location is a crucial part of the coffee industry, which explains why I jumped on the space once I saw it.”
Boccard’s approach gives patrons the opportunity to be in and out in less than five minutes. There will be grab-and-go food options like wraps and paninis housed in display cases. Diners should anticipate the raved-about Italian hero, with prosciutto di Parma, all-natural Coppa from Salumeria Biellese (NYC), roasted red peppers, primo sale cheese, arugula and a house-made Italian dressing. Though it won’t be prepared-to-order like the Huntington location, expect favorite offerings to taste the same.
“Because this spot doesn’t have a full kitchen…we will prepare the food at Southdown Huntington and then send it to Oyster Bay.”
Oyster Bay building circa 1910. image: southdown coffee
But the proximity to the beach is already leading to new ideas. A recipe for a Granita, a coffee slushy inspired by a café in Rome called Tazza D’Oro, is in the works. The ingredients are still being finalized, but the Granita will likely be naturally sweetened and topped with unsweetened whipped cream.
Keeping in line with the talks of travel, Boccard also plans to implement more African offerings with coffees from Rwanda and Burundi as well as Colombia.
“Much of our sourcing involves going to the origin to taste a huge number of coffees before we select them, and with so many countries growing coffee around the world, it’s hard to represent them all at their best in a single year with one shop. With a second shop, we’ll be able to serve a wider variety of offerings that we really missed out on, and I hope to find some gems in the upcoming harvests.”