Stony Brook’s Pentimento will close Sept. 30 despite protests organized by customers

Stony Brook’s Pentimento will close Sept. 30 despite protests organized by customers

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Photo by Rita J. Egan

On Sept. 14, Pentimento owner Dennis Young was notified that the restaurant’s lease would not be extended, and they would have to vacate the premises as of Sept. 30, according to Pentimento’s manager Lisa Cusumano.

“We walk away after 27 years with nothing.”

— Lisa Cusumano

“We walk away after 27 years with nothing,” she said, adding now they will concentrate on continuing to serve the community until the doors close and finding jobs for their employees.

According to Gloria Rocchio, president of Eagle Realty Holdings which leases the space, Young and Cusumano were asked to stay on until an appropriate tenant could be found, but they declined. A full interview with Rocchio and some members of the board will be available on TBR News Media’s website and social media Sept. 17 and in next week’s paper.

Cusumano said they informed the staff the morning of Sept. 15, before the public was notified, so the closure notice could be announced direct from her and Young.

“We feel like we’re letting the community down by leaving,” she said, adding how the business has contributed to Ronald McDonald House, sponsored Little League and more.

She said that employees as well as their small vendors depend on the business.

Just before the restaurant was notified, Sept. 10 and 12 found a few dozen people holding protests asking Eagle Realty Holdings to extend Pentimento’s lease in Stony Brook Village Center. Two other rallies were held during the last few weeks.

On July 29, Pentimento Restaurant posted to their Facebook page that they were unable to extend the term of their lease. However, with the support of the community, which was overwhelming, Cusumano said, they found some hope.

Young and Cusumano said in an Aug. 5 The Village Times Herald article that they forgot to inform the landlord that they wanted to renew their lease last year because they were busy trying to keep their business afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Young, who hopes to retire in the near future, had found a party who was interested in buying the business and recently asked if he could extend the lease.

Rocchio said in a statement in August that in addition to not receiving notice about Young’s intention to renew the lease, the tenant failed “to comply with the requirement to maintain the septic system” which is described in the lease. Young said he has kept up with all maintenance and has also renovated the business through the 27 years he has operated Pentimento. In 2009, he also bought a new cesspool.

In August, Rocchio said Young’s suggested buyer and others were being interviewed to take over the spot.

As for recent protests, the rally on Sept. 10 was held in front of the restaurant, according to participant Barbara Beltrami from Setauket, and the Sept. 12 protest took place in front of Rocchio’s home.

“It was a very passionate, loud protest,” Beltrami said.

In addition to the rallies, an online petition was started to save the restaurant on Change.org. More than 3,735 people have signed it as of Sept. 15.