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In 2003, Bob Nidzyn noticed that a place he had grown up with and loved had fallen into disrepair.
It was that year that he decided to try to restore and reopen the Speonk train station restaurant now known as the Trackside Café.
“After the previous owner closed up in 2001, I saw the building getting vandalized,” said Mr. Nidzyn, which prompted him to look into acquiring the restaurant. After bidding on the building and presenting his plans to the building’s owner, the Long Island Rail Road, he got the green light to operate it as a restaurant.
During the renovation process, a sense of nostalgia pushed him to re-create the restaurant as he remembered it in his youth: a place where locals gathered to shoot the breeze. “Being that I was born and raised around here, I wanted to keep it in that authenticity of character and style,” he explained, noting that the restaurant was repainted with the original colors.
These days, the restaurant has many artifacts harking back to its roots. First opened in 1958, the café was known to locals as a place where they could get a quick bite before getting on the train, or to stop in and get a burger from the original owner, Dell Donovan.
An antique telephone and lantern set the retro tone, complemented by myriad old photos adorning the walls. Artifacts from the station itself: a yellow circular R/R sign, a red and white railroad crossing arm, and lights from a train also add to the ambiance most clearly established by the café’s proximity to the tracks.
“When the train goes by, the place kind of shakes and rattles,” Mr. Nidzyn said. And it’s that effect, according to chef and manager Tara Oliver, that makes the place so popular for kids. “When the train rolls through here, it’s great,” she said. “We get a lot of grandparents with their grandkids,”
The menu at the Trackside changes every day as Ms. Oliver comes up with new specials. On a recent Saturday, the specials included a panini made with roast loin of pork, carmelized onions, mushrooms, saffron aoli, and melted cheese, priced at $9.99. A tuna salad wrap with bacon, lettuce, and tomato, made with fresh tuna provided by Mr. Nidzyn’s other business, a seafood market called Scales and Tails Inc, was also available at $9.99.
It’s the little details, like using only fresh tuna, never canned, that make all the difference for Mr. Nidzyn and Ms. Oliver. “If you’re going to have tuna salad, there’s a world of difference between tunafish in the can and fresh tuna,” said Mr. Nidzyn. “There’s no comparison.”
The focus on freshness is also reflected by the incorporation into the menu of eggs from Mr. Nidzyn’s own flock of chickens, which he keeps in his Remsenburg backyard.
“You can taste the difference ... it’s very tasty,” he said, noting that customers are also given the option of using store-bought eggs in their dishes to save a little money. During the season, Ms. Oliver, who lives on the North Fork, also picks up fresh fruit and vegetables on her way to work.
Because so many of Trackside Café’s customers are regulars, Ms. Oliver knows many of them by their first names. “We have people who make this a part of their daily or weekly routine,” she said. “We’re like family.”
And with that family atmosphere comes familiarity amongst the customers as well.
“A lot of customers come back for the banter,” she said. “What I love is having Remsenburg ladies sitting at the counter schmoozing with biker dudes, and both groups loving it.”
Ms. Oliver, who did part of her culinary training at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, also noted that she’s particularly proud of pancakes that she makes with granola, which sets them apart from typical flapjacks. She said she’s hoping to add some lighter fare to the summer menu, like an egg white omelet.
Those people who aren’t watching their weight are in luck, as the Trackside has a reputation for outstanding desserts. Homemade key lime and chocolate mousse pies, among others, are legendary among the regulars. A croissant bread pudding made with fresh fruit and homemade brownies were also on the menu on a recent Saturday.
Prices at the café are modest, with the homemade lobster roll the most expensive item at $21.99.
“I always ask the customers afterward if it was worth the price, and they always give me a resounding yes,” said Ms. Oliver, referring to the lobster rolls.
While the café is open only for breakfast and lunch at present, Mr. Nidzyn said he expects to begin offering dinner in a few weeks. He is also planning impromptu antique car shows at the café on Monday nights beginning later this month, showcasing his collection as well as cars belonging to his customers.
The increase in activity at the café is good news for regulars like John Mulholland, who stopped in recently for a cup of tea and some croissant bread pudding.
“I love the way the girls go the extra mile,” he said, admiring the confectioner’s sugar and sauce of fruit reduction artfully adorning the bread pudding. “You know that sign when you’re driving into Speonk that says ‘Welcome to Speonk. We’re more than just a train station’? And I used to think, what else? But I think it’s this place.”
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