And now for something completely different.
Anthony Coates – investment advisor, political consultant and former town supervisor candidate – will be adding “barista” to his resumé when he opens a coffee shop in downtown Wading River this spring.
Hudson Market, located on Sound Road near the duck pond, will peddle coffee roasts and pastries from popular Greenport coffeemaker Aldo’s Café, as well as ice cream, gelato and local produce.
“I said I was going to awaken Riverhead, and one way or another I’ll find a way to do it,” Coates said cheerfully this morning.
Running a coffee shop is something Coates has always wanted to do, he told RiverheadLOCAL today. After his unsuccessful run for town supervisor last fall, Coates says he wants to take the opportunity to give back to the community in a different way.
“What’s more all-American than staking my claim in a small business?” he said.
He envisions the coffee shop as a gathering place for the Wading River community, where patrons can grab a cup of coffee and the paper on their way to work. He plans to stock the shop with local food products like honey and cheeses as well as general convenience store items.
“I want to keep everything as local and community-oriented as can be,” Coates said.
Wading River’s historic downtown has seen a wave of successful new shops opening in recent years, including Coates’ neighbors My Creperie and North Fork Bacon and Smokehouse. Coates hopes Hudson Market will help the area’s businesses reach a “critical mass” that encourages visitors to stay and shop a while.
“I want it to have a very small town kind of feel,” Coates said. “I think it could be a sort of touchstone for the area.”
Hudson Market will offer coffee and baked goods from Aldo’s, an Italian coffee shop in Greenport that will make a special house blend for the Wading River shop. “He’s a real artist,” Coates said. “Very few people take the kind of care that he does. They opened a Starbucks across the street from him, and he knocked them out of business.”
Though space will be limited inside the shop – the storefront is only 287 square feet – Coates hopes its coziness will add to its small-town personality. Seating and public wi-fi will be available.
“It’s such an attractive area, and I think it really cries out for a community feel,” Coates said.
He is planning for an opening this April.
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