Provisions Market, the sixth Oyster Bay venture from the Lush Life Group, opened its doors on Friday, April 11, offering customers a wide variety of gourmet food items, from meats to cheeses to spices.
Lush Life Group, which is owned by chef Jesse Schenker and Claudia Taglich, operates five existing restaurants in downtown Oyster Bay. Provisions Market offers a new experience to customers by providing curated ingredients so customers can use imported foods in their own kitchens.
“I want to be a value-driven, quality market that gives people great choices,” said Schenker. “Ready to eat, ready to serve, or ready to cook.”
He said the market sells quality ingredients, from kitchen staples like eggs and pasta to specialty honeys, spices, and olive oils, as well as meats and prepared foods. But food isn’t all the market sells because it also offers serving trays and dishes, linens, and decor to customers.
“It’s really got a little bit of everything,” Schenker said. “You could definitely come in here and get everything you need for a meal, and then some.”
Located in the historic Snouder’s building, the market is the sixth venture for the Lush Life Group, which owns and operates 2 Spring, FOUR, Gioia, Gimme Burger, and Provisions Bread & Cheese.
Schenker said all of the group’s restaurants offer different price ranges and types of foods, serving the community in various ways. Gimme Burger offers fast-food meals, while 2 Spring offers an upscale dining experience.
However, Schenker said high-quality ingredients are used in every location, which is part of the brand’s “ethos.”
The market has a twist: it offers a dining experience for up to 10 people after hours, using ingredients from the shop’s stock.
Once the market closes at 7:00 p.m., it offers a reservations-only single-party dining table experience. A chef comes into the market and uses ingredients off the shelves to serve a “multi-course family-style dinner,” Schenker said.
Schenker said the staff will create appetizers, entrees, and desserts with fresh ingredients, using imported ingredients and specialty spices, offering fine wines for a unique dining experience after hours.
“So people are walking by, the doors are locked and you’re having this feast in the window,” Schenker said.
Schenker first started working in Oyster Bay in 2017, when he aimed to bring “New York standards to Long Island.”
“I’ve always cooked,” Schenker said. “I’ve always loved cooking.”
Schenker, originally from Florida, said he left high school early to take culinary courses and work in restaurants.
“As cliche as it sounds, McDonald’s was one of my first jobs,” he said. He said he worked his “way up the totem pole” in the Florida food scene, earning the title of sous chef at a big-time restaurant group.
Schenker moved to New York at 25 to work at Gordon Ramsy’s restaurant in the London Hotel. He said he initially dined at the restaurant on a family vacation, which was his first Michelin-starred dining experience.
Schenker said he was “totally mesmerized,” and before he left, he said he handed the floor manager his phone number and told him that it was his dream job.
Two days later, he received a call from the restaurant for a trial weekend, and soon after, received an offer from them.
From there, Schenker said he worked in the restaurant and tried to explore the city’s food scene as much as possible. In 2009, he opened his own restaurant in the West Village.
After a few years of owning and operating the restaurant, Schenker said a regular customer approached him about helping his sister open an eatery in Oyster Bay.
“So I started, what started as a consulting job, with my current partner, Claudia, who was related to my friend who connected us,” Schenker said.
After the two started working together, Schenker said he was motivated by Taglich’s passion for hospitality and dining. The two eventually began a partnership with Lush Life Group.
“It was a breath of fresh air,” he said.
Schenker has since moved out of the city and lives in Oyster Bay, three doors down from Taglich. He said the two aim to provide the community with quality, tasty options.
He said the two have kept their business ventures and restaurants in Oyster Bay because they want to contribute to the community and provide their neighbors with quality food and ingredients.
Provisions Market is located at 108 South St. and operates daily. For more information, visit lushlifehospitality.com.
