The Milleridge Inn was officially saved from history’s trash heap this month.
After months of speculation and worry, Long Islanders breathed a sigh of relief when two catering veterans were introduced as the new operators of the Inn during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the main dining room. Butch Yamali, president of the Dover Group, and Anthony Capetola, owner and operator of The Carltun in East Meadow, assured attendees that the Inn, along with its cottage and village shops, will remain largely intact—with the exception of a few much-needed improvements.
“The footprint of the Inn will remain exactly the same,” said Capetola, adding that he and his business partner plan to make a multi-million dollar investment in renovations and upgrades. “But we need to do lots of renovations. We will replace every bathroom facility, the roofs and more.”
The pair signed a 30-year lease at the beginning of December and though they did not specify how much they will spend on renovations, Yamali said the aspects of the Inn that residents have come to cherish—including the popovers—will remain.
“We are going to continue the traditions while bringing back the luster it once had,” said Yamali. “This place has hundreds of years of history. You’re standing in a building that dates back to the 1600s. It’s amazing.”
Yamali and Capetola were selected from numerous potential operators by Kimco Realty, the New Hyde Park-based firm that purchased the Inn for $7.5 million last year. David Bujnicki, Kimco’s vice president of investor relations and communications, said that the firm never deviated from its plan to find a suitable replacement for the Inn’s former owner, Owen Smith, whose family owned and operated the property for more than 50 years.
“After Kimco acquired the Milleridge Inn and its prior owner, Mr. Smith, subsequently decided to retire at the end of 2015, it was our desire to find another proprietor for this establishment,” said Bujnicki. “Yamali and Capetola have a highly regarded reputation in the restaurant business with a successful track record of operating a number of fine Long Island dining establishments.”
Legislator Judy Jacobs said that Yamali and Capetola are two of the most capable businesspeople she knows and that Kimco made a
solid choice.
“This place is in good hands,” she said. “I can’t imagine Jericho not having the Milleridge Inn.”
Officials also recognized the work of two local activists, Sheila Doherty and James Muller, who rallied residents and made sure Kimco heard the community’s cries for preservation. Doherty started a “Save the Milleridge” Facebook page to raise awareness and act as a resource for residents who felt blind-sided by the news of the Inn’s sale. Muller, meanwhile, circulated an online petition that garnered close to 17,000 signatures in support of the Inn.
“As a history teacher, saving this building is important to me because it is such a huge part of our local history,” said Muller. “There was no way I was going to sit back and watch it disappear.”
Doherty said that long before Yamali and Capetola were named operators, two of their catering halls, Coral House in Baldwin and the Carltun, kept coming up when residents discussed their vision for an updated Milleridge Inn.
“[Yamali and Capetola] understand what community means and what the Milleridge means,” said Doherty, who added that Kimco deserves credit for saving the Inn. “This is a multi-billion dollar corporation that worked with regular citizens. They [Kimco] worked so hard to save this building. It broke our hearts to think that this building wouldn’t be here for future generations.”
