The Village of Mineola Board of Trustees approved two special use permits last week, giving the go-ahead for a Quest Diagnostics by the train station and La Bottega on Main Street.
Quest Diagnostics, a blood diagnostic center, will dissolve their current location at First Street in Mineola into the new location at 212 Station Plaza (next to O’Carroll’s Recovery Room), in an effort to reach more commuters.
“We’re trying to take advantage of the commuters here,” said Erik A. Bjorneby, architect for the project. “The main target is commuters in the morning.”
The 918 square foot center is expected to employ one full-time and one part-time employee, who will commute there via the Long Island Rail Road. There will be two stations for blood drawing and they will also collect urine samples; both will be picked up from the site daily. Biohazard waste will be stored as required and picked up as needed.
Bjorneby said they expect to have about 25 to 30 patients a day, with hours of operation being Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch) and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon.
“I see this as a low impact use for this area,” said Deputy Mayor Paul Pereira. “I don’t see this as being a problem in that area.”
Quest plans to redo the façade of the site and said they were open to recommended signage from the village as part of Mineola’s ongoing facade improvement grant assistance program.
La Bottega, well-known for its paninis and salads, also got approval to move into 100 Main St., the former site of the short-lived Yatai Casual Asian. While the restaurant, which has 15 other locations, is popular for its lunch offerings, owner Giuseppe Ruta is also hoping to introduce breakfast for the first time at the new Mineola site.
The Mineola location will have 22 seats in house and will offer pre-made and made-to-order sandwiches, as well as a breakfast menu with paninis and omelettes. Ruta said for space reasons, he’s not sure yet if he will serve wine and beer, but will decide that in the next few months.
Deliveries will be made by van as well as by foot, as meat is being sourced from Treasure Isle Foods next door.
Because the site was formerly a restaurant, Ruta noted that not many modifications were needed, just decorations to “make it look as Italian as I can.” Ruta plans to open at the end of January, once signage and training is complete. He anticipates employing 15 to 20 full and part-time workers, with five to seven working each shift. The fast casual restaurant will open at 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday, though Ruta said he is considering doing a half day on Sundays if business is slow.
Pereira thanked Ruta for choosing to open in Mineola.
“La Bottega has name recognition and that downtown area is really getting revitalized and I appreciate that you had the vision to open up there,” he said.
“I think it’s going to be a good addition to downtown,” added trustee George Durham.
