The Village of Roslyn Board of Trustees approved a new farm-to-table restaurant for Old Northern Boulevard and advanced changes to the village’s snow removal law aimed at easing winter parking problems on Tuesday.
During its Feb. 17 meeting, the board heard from Pasquale Abbatiello, chef and owner of the proposed Griffon Restaurant, which plans to open at 1512 & 1514 Old Northern Blvd., the former site of Limani Mezze.
Abbatiello told trustees the restaurant will be a “contemporary American” concept, emphasizing seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and elevated brunch offerings. He said the restaurant will operate seven days a week from noon to 10 p.m.
Explaining why Roslyn is an ideal location for that approach, Abbatiello pointed to Long Island’s agricultural resources.
“There are a lot of farms. You can buy milk in Riverhead. You can get local ingredients from the North Fork,” he said. “There’s plenty of farms around here where you can find those things. So those are the things that I want to bring to the restaurant — kind of use what’s available, what’s fresh.”
The eatery is expected to employ about 20 people, with roughly 10 working at a time. Abbatiello said the total seating capacity would be 94, including bar seating — a reduction from the prior configuration at the location. Abbatiello said this is because the tables will be larger than normal for extra comfort.
“We want to put out a great experience,” he said. “We don’t necessarily want people walking into a packed restaurant.”
A Long Island native, Abbatiello said he previously oversaw multiple restaurants in Westchester County and is returning closer to home after the recent birth of his twin children. He said he aims to create an owner-operated establishment where guests regularly see both the chef and the front-of-house partner on-site.
“Now that I have a family, I want to be close to home,” he said. “This opportunity came up over here in Roslyn, and I felt like it was the right time.”
Mayor John Durkin said primary concerns centered on parking and traffic flow in the area, particularly given ongoing congestion issues in the municipal lot serving the building.
Abbatiello said employees will park in the lower garage and not in the main lot. He added that most deliveries will be routed to the rear of the building and received in the basement to avoid blocking traffic or fire lanes. The restaurant will primarily operate on a reservation-based system, he said, to better control customer flow and minimize parking impacts.
The board also reviewed minor kitchen layout adjustments, including the use of natural gas equipment and a single 24-inch grill. No major structural changes are planned, Abbatiello said.
Following the discussion, trustees approved the application, clearing the way for the restaurant to move forward. Abbatiello said he hopes to open within about a month, pending final cosmetic work.
In other business, the board voted to amend the village code to expand snow emergency parking restrictions to all village streets.
Currently, vehicles must be removed from East Broadway, Main Street and Old Northern Boulevard during snowfalls so plows can operate. The amendment requires vehicle owners and operators to remove cars from village streets during snow events, enabling the Department of Public Works to clear roads more efficiently.
Durkin said repeated storms this winter have made snow removal more challenging, with some cleanups taking up to a week. He said the change is intended to improve safety and speed up plowing operations.
Additionally, trustees appointed Sohita Mehra as a new member to the Village Board of Zoning Appeals, though one vacancy remains.
