Good Ground Restaurant Could Open In Hampton Bays Next Summer

A new restaurant featuring American-style cuisine, outdoor dining and a bar is on pace to be opened by next summer.

Smithtown resident Ed Hilinski plans to open Good Ground Restaurant in the building that once housed 3 Aces Italian restaurant on Montauk Highway by June, after installing new windows, doors, floor and roof, as well as bringing in all new kitchen appliances. Good Ground will feature classic American fare like hamburgers.

A former pharmacist, Mr. Hilinski sold his drugstore about three and a half years ago after nearly three decades of operation in Sayville. Two years ago he decided to pursue a passion for working with food, and he attended the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan.

Mr. Hilinski said he plans to make everything fresh and have very little frozen food on hand, adding that he would one day like to make all his own baked goods in-house. But for now, he’s focused on providing patrons with the best dining experience possible.

“I’m just excited to get going and I truly, wholeheartedly, believe that the building is going to be beautiful when it’s done,” he said. 
“And they’re going to get great food and great service.”

The menu will feature made-to-order breakfast and lunch seven days a week and dinner Thursday through Sunday. The restaurant also will feature about 20 outdoor seats during the summer months.

Mr. Hilinski said he and his wife, Judy, have owned a second home in Hampton Bays, “right around the corner” from the restaurant, for about eight years, adding that they spend much of their summers and many weekends there already. He bought the soon-to-be restaurant in December 2012 and has been proactive, Southampton Town Planning Board Chair Dennis Finnerty said last week, saying that Mr. Hilinski began consulting the board before he’d even acquired the building.

The planning board held a hearing to allow public comment on the restaurant on November 14. Mr. Finnerty said the proposal garnered no opposition.