Projects Galore at the Riverhead Project

Less than eight months after opening his new restaurant's doors, Dennis McDermott of the is working on some other projects at the East Main Street restaurant.

Each one consistently branded as a different kind of "______project," McDermott is hoping to market the restaurant as "more than a one-track pony."

"We're not just lunch and dinner," he said on Wednesday.

The lunch and dinner did, however, earn the restaurant the title from Newsday in December.

Pointing first to the recently-finished "Vault," a private room in the lower floor of the restaurant, McDermott says he has hosted several pharmaceutical conferences, with companies making pitches to doctors who practice at Peconic Bay Medical Center.

On Monday and Thursday nights, the Vault doubles as a movie theater for the "movieproject." Weaving in an interactive experience, those planning on attending are encouraged to vote on a facebook page which movie should screen.

The "chefproject" spun off the restaurant's first side project, the "wineproject." The multiple-course dinners (the first one, held on Monday, featured five courses) will be held every Monday night at 7 p.m., and host a guest chef in the kitchen, along with the Riverhead Project's head chef, Greg Ling. For a $25 donation to the North Fork Animal Welfare League, attendees can even eat in the kitchen.

"It's an unusual concept for one restaurant to be cross-promoting another restaurant, but it's important that all the restaurants get along and play nicely," McDermott said. So far, he said , , , , and the - McDermott's old head chef - have all signed on.

The chefproject comes in the wake of the popular wineproject. While both entertain the spirit of discussing and enjoying what's on the table, McDermott described the wineproject (which also includes a meal) as more communal - and obviously more centered on a particular vineyard's wine - sitting at one table by the restaurant's fireplace, while guests of the chefproject are free to sit in tables of two, four, six, or whatever. The dinners max out at 14 people.

One final project - for the forseeable future, at least - includes the "otherproject." The smaller structure on the north end of the property that formerly hosted a Chase Bank, McDermott said he sees something similar to in Greenport, the more casual, family-friendly alternative to it's more distinguished cousin . 

McDermott said the otherproject is only in the conceptual stages at this point though.

"I have so much going on right now, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew."