Speonk Train Station Cafe, Little Gull, On Track for Fall Opening

People have been swinging by the Speonk train station all summer asking when they’ll open Little Gull, the luncheonette in the spot that was once a local institution, the Trackside Cafe.

The cafe, on the east side of North Phillips Avenue, opposite the Long Island Rail Road station on the west side of the road, was a popular fixture in the community for decades, and Chef Will Pendergast is looking forward to carrying on its tradition of breakfast and lunch served in what was once the train station’s waiting room.

Refurbished and refitted, the cafe is homey, with faux marble topped iron-bottomed tables set before wooden benches and a long, handmade wood counter for those stopping in for a quick bite. A panoply of plants add clean green to both the quaint front porch and interior of the building.

Mr. Pendergast and his wife, Johanna, have done most of the work renovating the building. Even the kids, Phineas, 12, Van, 9, and Doone, 4, have gotten into the act: Van designed Little Gull’s logo, and the restaurant’s Instagram boasts a photo of Doone painting.

“It’s been fun — all these kids have painted, we’ve had friends come from out of town, family come to help. We built all the planter boxes ourselves,” Mr. Pendergast said.

Ms. Pendergast hung the wallpaper in the restroom, with its exceptionally tall ceilings, herself, with the help of friends who’d hand her pieces as she stood on “a really tall ladder.”

“It was very scary,” she admitted.

The entire enterprise has been both scary and exhilarating for the couple. Now a Remsenburg resident, Mr. Pendergast said he’s had his eye on the site ever since he first saw it.

He grew up in Massachusetts and Ms. Pendergast grew up in Southampton. The pair met in New York City and moved out east about seven years ago. When they first arrived, they were driving and looking around, and the cafe caught their eye.

“We saw this place, and it was still open,” Mr. Pendergast said, “and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s just a dream.’ It’s really special. And I think everybody feels that way. Everybody who drives by is so excited for it to open back up. I actually had my eye on this for a long time.”

“It was pretty amazing when it came up,” Ms. Pendergast recalled. Friends saw the request for proposals and texted. “We were so excited. That it was even possible,” she said.

The building is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, so hopeful tenants must participate in a competitive process for the chance to rent the building.

“I put in a proposal,” Mr. Pendergast said, and he was called into New York City for interviews. “It was a very long process … most restaurants don’t start like that.”

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City, he knows what he’s talking about. Mr. Pendergast has worked in an array of establishments — first in Manhattan and Brooklyn, then on the East End. He worked in the kitchen at The Dock in Montauk, but the commute was grueling. He worked at Catena’s in Southampton, and has most recently served as a private chef. The last path provided him with the flexibility he needed to get Little Gull off the ground.

While he’s run kitchens before, the chef is new to such challenges as payroll or sourcing equipment. He was able to find “liquidation brokers,” who tracked down excellent equipment from businesses that closed.

“Our broker would tell us the story of every restaurant [the equipment] was coming from. He does it to be interesting, but it was always a little heartbreaking for me,” Mr. Pendergast said. “Somebody else’s heartbreak was my …”

“Lucky break,” Ms. Pendergast interjected.

Bringing the historic building up to code presented another set of challenges, Mr. Pendergast explained. Health department and handicap accessibility compliances “became a real challenge, this place obviously wasn’t built to accommodate a restaurant,” he said.

Because the building is so old, there was also a lengthy process with the historical society, “which is fine,” Mr. Pendergast said, underscoring that he didn’t want to change the structure’s character.

The replacement of a crumbling chimney was cause for protracted review, Ms. Pendergast noted, adding, “there were a lot of cooks in the kitchen.”

Speaking of the kitchen, Mr. Pendergast explained that per MTA rules, the cafe must open for breakfast every weekday at 6 a.m. and on weekends by 9. Although he’d like to offer dinner service at some point, the size of the building limits what the family can do.

“To start, Little Gull’s menu will follow a luncheonette style of offerings, but a little elevated fare,” Ms. Pendergast said. It’s silly not to take advantage of the bounty of local produce, so in season produce will be highlighted, she said.

“My favorite food is any kind of sandwich, and I think any kind of sandwich is measured on its bread, and we are going to bake our own bread … I think that will set us a little bit apart,” Mr. Pendergast said.

With a quaint outdoor space on the porch, and the cozy interior, the cafe may accommodate up to two dozen diners.

The Trackside Cafe was originally opened in the station by Dell Donovan in 1958, and was subsequently taken over by restaurateur and real estate agent Robert Nidzyn in 2003 after it had been closed for two years. The cafe closed in 2017 after Mr. Nidzyn died.

According to the Southampton Town historical resource report, the depot — a wood building heated by a pot bellied stove — was completed in 1901. An earlier structure had been struck by lightning and burned down that summer.

At first, the couple hoped to open Little Gull this summer, but, Mr. Pendergast said, “we hit so many delays.” The pair focused on the long game and decided to take their time.

“We want to do it right,” Ms. Pendergast said.

Mr. Pendergast acknowledged there may be a community expectation hoping for continuity. “It may not be exactly the same,” he said, referring to the Trackside Cafe. “I’m going to do things my way. But it’s still going to be luncheonette, and it’s still going to be run by a local family.”