Business spotlight: It’s all about ‘local’ at new downtown market

A young husband-and-wife duo hope their new market and deli will bring gourmet, local ingredients and fresher, healthier food to Riverhead.

Off Main, located on Osborn Avenue, offers a variety of local produce purchased from local farms and fresh, made-to-order sandwiches and wraps made with the ingredients found on their market’s shelves.

“Eat local, support local, get away from the pesticides — I think that’s really important, and we’re trying to do our part,” said Tahir Baig, 27, who runs the restaurant with his 25-year-old wife Kaleigh.

Off Main opened its doors Aug. 19 during the Polish Town Fair, just north of the railroad tracks and the Riverhead library in the longtime home of Golding’s Hardware store, renovated a few years back by Peconic Baking Co., which closed last year. The couple explained they knew immediately that the location would be perfect for them.

“It just sort of fell into our laps,” said Kaleigh, laughing, in an interview at the market on Friday. “We were trying to get an idea of what felt right, looking at some other places around town, and then Tahir heard from a friend of a friend that this place was going to be available.”

“We just walked into the building and knew,” said Tahir. “It just has so much character.”

The Baigs, married in November 2009, said opening the business in Riverhead was the obvious choice for their location. They currently live in the village of Southampton, but Kaleigh is a Riverhead High School graduate and Tahir, who grew up in Rocky Point, worked for years in Riverhead managing a gas station. They said they are encouraged by the promise that Riverhead shows.

“I’ve seen the progress this town has made,” Tahir said. “Good things are coming, and Riverhead is the place to be right now.”

Tahir and Kaleigh had always dreamed of opening their own business together, but it wasn’t until last fall that they began to seriously consider the ideas that would lead to the opening of Off Main.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” said Tahir. “With my experience in retail and her experience as a cook, it was the way to go.”

Tahir got his first taste of retail as a teenager, when his family opened up a Handy Pantry on Long Island. He worked his way up to be the manager of the store, where he said he got valuable experience dealing with vendors and customers. Kaleigh, meanwhile, began working at a restaurant in Southampton when she was 14, where she said she worked her way up in the kitchen and learned how to cook.

“That’s how I got him,” she said, smiling at her husband, who nodded and returned her grin affectionately. “My roasted chicken.”

The couple is enthusiastic about the response they have received thus far, and they are confident that the business will grow as they continue to expand.

“We’re getting busy every day,” said Tahir. “You can taste the difference in [the local produce], and people have said that, over and over again.”

Their entrepreneurial dreams extend beyond the market and deli’s grand opening this fall, however.

“We have plans to make it into a restaurant,” explained Tahir. “We’re talking to the Long Ireland Beer Company, and they’re really excited.”

“People can come and eat some local-grown food and drink a local beer. It doesn’t get much better than that,” added Kaleigh.

Off Main currently offers catering for corporate events, and the couple would like to expand the market’s offerings to include cooking classes, wine tastings and live acoustic music. The market and deli will be accepting pre-orders of Thanksgiving pies during the first few weeks of November, and they currently offer a $4.59 lunch special for students that includes a sandwich and a drink.

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