Tears Of Joy, Cheers As Donohue's East Opens At Former Post Stop Cafe Spot: 'It Feels Like Home'
WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — Tears of joy flowed and a delighted crowd cheered at a ribbon-cutting Thursday night to mark the opening of the new Donohue's East, located at the site of the former Post Stop Cafe on Main Street in Westhampton Beach.Maureen Donohue-Peters, owner of the iconic Donohue's Steak House in New York City, cut the ribbon as she unveiled her newest venture, Donohue's East.Donohue-Peters is a local, who moved to Hampton Bays when she was in the fifth grade and whose roots are deeply entwined in the rich beauty of the East End. And so it seemed fitting that when she decided to open a new location, it would be just miles from the beach where she lifeguarded as a teen and from the homes where she and her closely-knit siblings still live.And from the first moment the first guests stepped onto that iconic porch and into the storied building beloved by locals for decades, many agreed that it felt not like just entering a new restaurant — but instead, like coming home. Home to a dinner prepared and served lovingly by a warm and welcoming family who exuded joy as they hugged friends old and new.Donohue-Peters, who partnered with her niece Mary Barrie at the new spot, said opening night was exciting. "You realize how important it is, to have family around," she said. "They ended up working. We're from a family where everyone has always just pitched in. It's nice to see the legacy passed on to the fourth generation — and to see ownership in the family business passed on, too, to my niece. Mary and I have worked together for 15 years and just to see her come full circle as an owner makes me very proud."Of the warmth that emanated with every home-cooked meal brought from the kitchen, or the family members who donned waitressing garb to help out, Donohue-Peters said: "I view the restaurant as an extension of home."The extended family gathered at Donohue's East recently as a legacy continued to flourish. / Courtesy Maureen Donohue-PetersThe Westhampton community she added, has been very welcoming. "Everyone has been saying how they've been waiting for so long for a restaurant to come to Westhampton Beach that's just low-key, serving plain, good food. They're excited that we're going to be year-round, too."One happy diner told her, "It's a breath of fresh air," Donohue-Peters said. "The restaurant will become part of the community."Lisa Finn / PatchOn opening night, the storied building, gleaming and fresh from its facelift — but with everything, the bar, the light fixtures, the tables on the porch, all the same and familiar, just as it always was, when the space was the Post Stop for decades — tables of guests filled the room with laughter and conversation. Their faces were wreathed in smiles as they tucked into heaping plates filled with warm, comforting fare, including Shepherd's pie, meat loaf, turkey dinners, chicken pot pie and steaks — recipes that have been passed down through generations, Donohue-Peters said.Lisa Finn / PatchThe biggest hits of that night were steak, Shepherd's pie — and a dizzying number of burgers ordered, she said. "I would never have imagined the number of burgers I served!"People are craving the comfort of homemade, nourishing food, recipes from their collective pasts. "No one has simplicity anymore," she said. "Sometimes when you go out you just want a burger, broiled chicken, turkey — things that bring back warm memories of days gone by."Lisa Finn / PatchThat feeling of warmth enveloped Donohue-Peters when she stepped into the eatery from the very first, she said."When I walked into the place first, when I first met Sandy Patterson, the previous owner, I sat down and I thought, 'Oh, my God, I'm home. It feels like home.'"Lisa Finn / PatchFor Donohue-Peters, the journey is a homecoming in every sense of the word, and her plan is to be at the restaurant day and night, welcoming diners to share meals and memory-making moments."I don't care if someone is having a burger and a beer — or a steak and a martini," she said. "It makes no difference to me how much money someone makes. Just come in, enjoy, and leave saying, 'God, I had a great time at Mary and Mo's." To her new clientele, Donohue-Peters said: "Welcome! To me, it’s a dream. I've come full circle and I’m happy that I’m home. I'm happy I can ease the day for people."Lisa Finn / PatchA strong work ethic is something she and everyone in her loving, extended family share, she said. On a regular day, a customer will find Dononhue-Peters bartending, or preparing for the lunch rush. "It's so important in this business to make sure you know all the basics of your restaurant, from the kitchen to the dining room to the bar," she said.Even on opening night, when things got busy, she immediately donned her waitressing clothes and Barrie, her chef's garb — Barrie headed right back into the kitchen to join the line as orders came streaming in.Lisa Finn / PatchAnd, every family member who jumped in to help, also made sure to stop by tables, to talk to customers. "There's nothing worse than when you go to a restaurant and the waitress takes your order and then, the next thing you know, a runner plops it down and then, a busser picks it up when you're done," Donohue-Peters said. "There's zero interaction between the staff and the people. You've got to interact — ask people how their meal was, make it a good time."One of the best parts of opening the restaurant is that her extended family, all of whom live in the area, will be helping out, making memories, and passing on the legacy of a deeply-rooted and beloved business to the next generation, she said."My siblings are my best friends," Donohue-Peters said. "At the end of the day, family matters. It's ingrained in all of us — family values."Even her tiny great-nieces and nephews are already stating that one day, they, too, will join the family and work at the restaurant, she said. "It's nice to pass on the legacy."Lisa Finn / PatchAnd for those who have no family, who are single or widowed and alone in the world, Donohue-Peters has created a haven where they can come for a meal, for conversation, for comfort. A place that's not pretentious, that feels, indeed, like the home so many yearn for, she said. "You've got to make it home for people that don't have that," she said.Lisa Finn / PatchDonohue, speaking of the rich legacy she's nurtured, reflected, "As my father used to say, 'If you find something you love, you'll never work a day in your life.'"Remembering opening night, Donohue-Peters said, "It was overwhelming, the joy. All the hard work paid off."And, of keeping the treasured space intact, she said, "It's a piece of history for Westhampton Beach, and you want to treat it that way."Lisa Finn / PatchKristen Collins, Donohue-Peters' niece, also spoke with Patch about her family's enduring legacy. Reflecting on the Upper East Side location of Donohue's, she said, "I'm prett sure every member of our huge, extended family has worked at or helped out at Donohue's in the city, and I'm sure that will continue here," she said.On opening night, Collins said, she'd worn heels — but, she laughed, as soon as things got busy, she, along with her family, jumped in to help, heels and all.That first night brought so many smiles and a sea of tears, tears of joy, she said. "Our grandfather would be so proud."Collins said she's thrilled that Donohue's East is so close to home, a place where all the family will join hands and hearts and shepherd the legacy forward.Lisa Finn / Patch"This is family — and we want to welcome everyone who comes into our family," she said. "It's such a special thing."All the relatives gathered for a family night at the restaurant before the official opening, Donohue-Peters said.As a mom, Collins said she's excited for her son, three years old, to grow up the way she did, eager to go to the restaurant, to "stop in and say hi to Aunt Mo and Aunt Mary," the way she used to stop by the New York City eatery and "say hi to Grandpa."Collins even found a note from third grade, where she'd written, "If you're ever in the city, stop into Donohue's and say 'hi' to my grandpa."Her grandfather, she said, would be so proud of Donohue-Peters and Barrie, both of whom have generous and loving hearts, as well as fierce work ethics, she said.Mary Barrie and her grandfather."They're following in his footsteps; this is what my grandfather and great-grandfather would have wanted," she said.Collins also said that the restaurant in New York has long stood as a haven and harbor for souls seeking comraderie; one man was alone and ate there every night for years. When he was sick, the family, who did not offer delivery, brought his dinner to his apartment, she said.That same sense of family will color every memory of Donohue's East, she said. "This is going to be home for people. It's so special," she said.Brian Tymann, a Westhampton Beach village trustee and resident, purchased the storied building from the Post Stop Cafe's longtime owner Sandy Patterson.Speaking with Patch, Tymann said he'd long had a vision of owning the building, which dates back to 1904 and was once, indeed, a post office."About five years ago, I approached Sandy Patterson and said, 'Hey, Sandy, when are you planning on retiring? I love this building and I want to buy it.'"Although Patterson told him she wasn't quite ready, she urged him to stay in touch. Tymann, a frequent customer, was patient. "She's an absolutely wonderful woman, inside and out. And then, one day she said, 'I'm ready.'"And so the journey began for the building's next chapter. The space, Tymann said, "has such a positive energy. I just love being in there, the sunlight."When Patterson told him that she'd like to move forward with the sale, Tymann said the process was seamless. "It was really old school, there were no heavy negotiations," he said.Tymann and his three partners purchased the property together; one of those partners, he said, told him he knew someone who'd be the perfect tenant — Donohue-Peters, who he knew well from her eatery, located on 64th and Lexington.And when Donohue-Peters met Patterson, the two clicked instantly, immediately falling into conversation and discovering similar experiences after decades in the restaurant industry — a deep and abiding sense of shared values."They loved each other instantly," Tymann said. "When Maureen walked in, she said, 'That's the same vintage cash register I have at Donohue's in Manhattan.' Sandy told her, 'I never transitioned to that digital stuff; we take our orders on a notepad.' Then Maureen said, 'We do the same thing.'"Hearts and mind aligned and a dream took shape."It all just came together," Tymann said. "It gives me goosebumps when I tell the story."Donohue-Peters has partnered with her niece Barrie, and Barrie also currently manages the New York City location, which just celebrated its 75th anniversary in April.The New York City restauant, which opened in 1950, was born when her grandfather Martin opened a space for each of his sons, Donohue-Peters said. Her father Michael Donohue was the mentor who taught her everything, including how to live a life rich with meaning."I came on in 1980 and I worked side by side with my dad every day," she said. "He died in 2000 and I've been there ever since. I promised him I'd take it to 75 years, and I took it to 75 years."Her father's words of wisdom have guided Donohue-Peters always, she said, sharing some of his advice: "Lessons I leaned from dad included, 'Your word is everything,'" she said. "Treat someone the way you want to be treated. Remember, never forget the first rung on the ladder because you could always need it again."And, her father also told her: "'You need to be humble. Until you walk in their shoes, Mo, you don't know. So sit back, assess it, talk to them a little bit — you can make the difference in a person's life.'"Of her new expansion to the East End, Donohue-Peters said she believes her father has guided her, and that he would be "100 percent delighted."Her father was no stranger to growth; the family had a business in Hampton Bays in the late 70s, she said; over the years, he had a number of restaurants and bars across New York City.Family was everything when she was growing up, and today, the bonds remain strong. Just as her father taught her the business from the ground up, teaching her every role from dishwasher to salad prep, to barback and bus person, and then waitressing, she has now passed on those same lessons to her niece.After she graduated college and expressed interest in joining the business, her father then told her to attend culinary school. "The biggest part of someone running a business is to know how to run their kitchen. If you have the confidence that you can cook yourself, you will make a winner of yourself," she said.Barrie has learned those lessons firsthand, working alongside her aunt and, too, attending culinary school. "I followed in her footsteps," she said. "My aunt is so passionate about this business and she has such an incredible work ethic."Both she and her aunt, she said, work 70-to-80 hour weeks.Their restaurants remain very much a family business; extended family will be seen at the new Westhampton Beach location, Donohue-Peters said."You don't see that very often, especially in the fourth generation," Barrie said. "I'm really excited about the Westhampton Beach location, and about keeping the family legacy strong."Of the New York spot, Barrie said people love the old-school ambiance, "the small martini glasses," Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra playing softly.And, Barrie said, she embraces those old school values. "I'm young but I'm an old soul," she said. "I'm just so happy to build something with my aunt in Westhampton Beach. This business was built by her grandfather and her father and I'm happy to continue those traditions. It's not just like building another restaurant — it's building another home for our customers."And for Donohue-Peters, Donohue's East is a new beginning, a place to sit with a cup of coffee and chat with neighbors and customers, sharing simple joys, days colored with laughter and fun. It's a place to carry on the work she's done since she was old enough to imagine the rest of her life."I just love the restaurant business; I can't picture myself doing anything else," Donohue-Peters said. "I can remember going down to the restaurant when I was five years old with my dad, and sitting on the bar counting quarters out of the cigarette machine."The best advice for business and life came from her father, her best friend and mentor, Donohue-Peters said. "Work hard and it will be rewarding. Love what you do and just treat people kindly. Work the magic."The photo Maureen Donohue-Peters' brother sent to her of their father Michael, on opening night. / Courtesy Maureen Donohue-Peters.On the night she opened in Westhampton Beach, her oldest brother Michael sent her a text with a photo of her father. "He wrote, 'I'll be looking down from heaven, wishing you all hte best at the grand opening of Donohue's East'."Donohue's East is located at 144 Main Street in Westhampton Beach and will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, with the bar open until midnight.The article Tears Of Joy, Cheers As Donohue's East Opens At Former Post Stop Cafe Spot: 'It Feels Like Home' appeared first on Westhampton-Hampton Bays, NY Patch.
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