Village Beverage Moves Up the Road

The gates are locked at the corner of Sound Avenue and Route 25A in Wading River, where Village Beverage has called home for the past five years. But the shop has just moved up the road, and will even be adding some new elements at its new home on Wading River-Manor Road.

Jay White's store, which called the busy intersection home for the past five years before its first home at what is now Dunkin' Donuts, is moving into the old Fink's Country Store location, between Suffolk County National Bank and the Little Bay Plaza at the corner.

The site also has a Citgo gas station – which will remain in place, and owned by the current landlord. But basically all of the rest of the space is White's to do what he wants with it for the long-term – which will include a couple new things.

The bottle collection depository will remain in place, in a barn behind the main shop. But White plans on bringing some chickens he raises on his own into a coop on site for fresh eggs, offering lottery tickets, and also selling a variety of yard plants such as annuals and perennials, and Christmas trees in the winter.

Hoping to cater to the Wildwood State Park crowd, he'll also be selling bait, and with a recent interest in craft beer still going strong – and the closest homebrew shop in Port Jefferson – White will offer homebrew supplies as well.

An eight-tap system for growler fills should be open up soon too, he said. And despite moving his inventory twice since opening, he said he's looking forward to calling his new location home after securing a long-term lease.

"We'll be here for a while," he said.