Open For the Season: The Modern Snack Bar

A sure sign of spring on the North Fork is the annual opening of The Modern Snack Bar for the season.

The Modern Snack Bar, located on Route 25 in Aquebogue, opens Tuesday for its 63nd season, and owners Otto and John Wittmeier will welcome back generations of diners to the eatery, owned by the same family for 63 years.

When the doors of the Modern Snack Bar were first opened in 1950, the restaurant had only six stools and a hamburger cost 25 cents, said Otto Wittmeier, whose parents, John and Wanda, had a winning recipe for home-cooked food and a warm family atmosphere that kept customers coming back for over six decades.

Today, the restaurant seats 125, and a menu featuring mashed turnips, lemon meringue pie, roast duckling, sauerbraten, roast turkey, pork, and lobster salad is a beloved tradition for scores of diners, hundreds of whom place orders for the turnips and stand on long lines to purchase dessert from a wide selection of pies every Thanksgiving. 

The Modern Snack Bar also offers a full selection of mixed drinks and beer choices and has 19 wines by the glass.

The Wittmeiers agree that customers and staff, many of whom have been employed for years, have given The Modern Snack Bar unique flavor and heart. 

"We're excited to see people we haven't seen in three months," Otto Wittmeier has told Patch. "Every year, people come back. We look for them, the waitresses look for them -- you develop personal relationships."

The Modern Snack Bar is located at 628 Main Road in Aquebogue. For hours and further information, call 631-722-3655.