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Following long and exhausting football practices held at Westhampton Beach High School in the 1930s, there was only one place that Beecher Halsey wanted to go—if he could scrounge up a few pennies, that is.
On his way home to Quiogue, he would often stop at Eckart’s Luncheonette on Mill Road in the village for a small cup of ice cream, he recalled last week during an interview at the restaurant, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
“I could ride my bicycle with no hands, eating my ice cream, the entire way home,” he said while sitting at the counter with three friends—fellow Westhampton Beach resident Bo Bishop and Westhampton residents Marvin Raynor and Jim Feeney.
Now, sitting at the counter at Eckart’s Luncheonette is where the 88-year-old finds himself nearly every morning. It is where he enjoys breakfast and completes that day’s crossword puzzle in The Daily News—to keep his memory sharp.
“I’m the junior here,” said Mr. Feeney, 79, sitting directly to Mr. Halsey’s left. “These guys have been coming 100 years longer than me,” he joked, noting that he’s lived in Westhampton for just six years.
For these four friends, and countless other locals, Eckart’s Luncehonette has long been considered a staple of the Westhampton Beach community, and one that its owners say will undergo some minor changes as they plunge into their second century of operation.
Inside, the eatery’s dated décor juxtaposes modern-day breakfast and lunch fares—from specialty omelets and French toast to wraps and hamburgers. The shelving that’s flush against the wall, to the right of the front door, is stocked with old magazines dating back several decades. To the left of the entrance, the counter runs the length of the front room, stopping short before the back room, which holds several of the restaurant’s 14 tables. The luncheonette’s original cash register sits atop an old wooden telephone booth in the corner.
“The place reeks of history,” Mr. Feeney said. “It’s just a fantastic experience. I met these fine gents and now I have breakfast here every day with them. This is so unique, there’s nothing like this.”
Eckart’s Luncheonette was not always the restaurant it is today. When Brooklyn native Jacob Eckart bought the store in 1911, it was a barroom called “The Outside Inn.” It earned that name because its interior was decorated with exterior shingles, according to Dee McClain, Mr. Eckart’s granddaughter, who now runs the restaurant with her husband, Raymond. During Prohibition, she said Mr. Eckart transformed the bar into a soda shop.
From here, the restaurant’s history gets a tad fuzzy. Ms. McClain pointed to the narrative printed on the covers of the establishment’s menus. “It’s supposed to be a joke,” she said, “but this is pretty much the story.”
According to the story printed on the menus, Mr. Eckart suggested in 1949 that his son, Warren “Red” Eckart, get a job. When the younger Mr. Eckart retorted that he could take over the store, his father said, “You’ll run it into the ground in six weeks!”
“If that’s the truth, my grandfather was wrong,” said Ms. McClain, who purchased the building from her parents in 1992, though she had started running the restaurant five years earlier. “We’re in our fourth generation because we’re going to pass it over to him, next,” she said, nodding at her son, Raymond, who now works in the kitchen.
Like his mother, Mr. McClain began his career at Eckart’s Luncheonette at the young age of 13. Seven years ago—and after gaining experience washing dishes and waiting tables—Mr. McClain settled in as a chef. His mother calls him the “Lightning Bolt,” because of the way he flies around the kitchen.
“From an early age, I felt like I would be here,” said Mr. McClain, now 25, who lives in East Quogue. “I just kind of always loved this place and I’d like to continue it on for the next generations. You don’t really hear about many restaurants lasting too long, nowadays, to last 100 years.”
The trick, he said, is keeping the restaurant fresh. With the help of his father, the two men have come up with a number of different sandwiches for the menu, upping the count from about five on the old menu to more than 30 choices today.
This summer, Mr. McClain said they plan expanding their hours and staying open later than 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Within the next three years, Mr. McClain and his mother both said they also hope to offer beer and wine, as well as outdoor seating.
“We’re thinking about changes, definitely,” Mr. McClain said. “There’s always room for improvement, that’s for sure. Bring it up to the new age.”
But the McClain family also strives to keep the restaurant’s charm alive, and that is partly due to its special customers—including 88-year-old Shirley Eckart, the widow of Mr. Eckart who died seven years ago.
“Red was a real character in this place,” Ms. Eckart said. “He was a very honest man, a very gentle man. He would kid with the fellas, he was always doing something. We had many happy times here. I wouldn’t think of ever leaving. I love it here and they must, too,” she said, pointing to the counter where the four men were seated.
While sitting at the counter, Mr. Raynor explained that, like his childhood friend Mr. Halsey, he first visited the restaurant in the 1930s.
“It’s a very nice place,” he said.
His statement prompted laughter from his friends.
“He’s a man of very few words,” Mr. Feeney explained.
“You’ve been coming here for 70 years, and that’s what you have to say?” Mr. Bishop said.
Mr. Raynor simply nodded.
Also a self-proclaimed newcomer, Mr. Bishop said his first visit to the luncheonette occurred when he was just 5 years old.
“My father and I would come every weekend. It was a special treat,” the 62-year-old said. “Now, they have the best sandwiches in town—by far. There’s none like it. This place is an icon.”
Michelle Trauring on Mar 8, 2011