Downtown Riverhead

Wayne Steck, a principal in the company that developed Summerwind Square, is seeking IDA benefits for a second proposed mixed-use apartment building in downtown Riverhead.

Town officials say the historic Vail-Leavitt, built in 1881, is in dilapidated condition and urgently in need of repairs. The nonprofit group that took ownership of the music hall in 1982 hasn't kept its promises to restore and maintain the building, officials say.

The town is seeking federal funding for: a flood resiliency project on the riverfront; an amphitheater & playground in the town square; public Wi-Fi, security cameras, lighting and signage downtown; and about half the cost of a parking garage in the parking lot north of E. Main St.

North Fork Chocolate Company will open its new East Main Street eatery Monday morning, offering decadent desserts, waffles and freshly made lunch foods.

The family-owned frozen dessert shop will feature frozen yogurt, Granizadas (shaved ice with fresh fruit syrup), mangoniadas, fresh con crema, smoothies, and more.

The Riverhead BID once again has a full card of downtown events planned: Alive on 25 on four Friday nights, fireworks, Reflections- Art in the Park, Cardboard Boat Races, Halloween Fest, and a holiday parade and bonfire.

Jeff Schaeffer and Kasandra Watkins, a certified coffee master, are opening Mugs on Main, where customers can relax with a fresh-brewed mug of custom-roasted coffee in a café atmosphere.

Takkii Ramen, a privately owned small chain with locations in Pennsylvania, Syosset and Smithtown, plans to open a new restaurant on West Main St., just west of Griffing Avenue this fall.

Guest column: People associate excessive litter with lack of social control and management, which breeds a sense of insecurity. The perception of Riverhead is that it is dirty and dangerous. 

Riverhead is hoping to make its downtown area more “family friendly” with changes to town code that will ban certain uses in a new overlay district and beef up the town’s existing “Zero Tolerance Zone” rules, creating new offenses with criminal penalties and increasing penalties for some violations already on the books.