4 new Long Island coffee spots to check out
With so many corporate coffee chains in our midst, finding a well-executed, independent coffee shop is a feat. Such destinations must serve a solid, consistent cup of coffee, but great stand-alone coffee shops — the Central Perks of the world — are also about the vibe, the back story, the treats, and the community that springs forth to support and sustain them.
The biggest surprise of owning a coffee shop, according to Jackson Davis, of Bay Shore’s Kismet Coffee Co., was “how quickly we gained regulars,” he said.
Like bars, coffee shops have become daytime havens for both solace and companionship — there's something to the act of consuming a hot (or cold) beverage, taking a brief time out, or talking through a problem with a bartender or barista.
As iced coffee season commences, here are four new coffee spots where you can get your caffeine on.
One Trick Pony, Westhampton Beach
Candice Huffine and Shelly Lynch-Sparks are a power couple. The pair in work and life had a marquee 2023, getting married and opening their stunning coffee shop on a light, bright corner in Westhampton. Huffine, a model, and Lynch-Sparks, an interior designer, “always had a dream to open a coffee shop,” Huffine said. “If we could do one thing well — the coffee — we could hopefully make it work.” Hence, the name: One Trick Pony.
But as it turns out, One Trick Pony does more than just coffee well. The meticulous space transforms from an airy morning coffee bar, dazzled in sunlight, anchored in bookshelves, into a swank cocktail bar come sundown, complete with espresso martinis and trivia night, drag bingo and live music. North Fork Roasting Co. formerly inhabited the space, and the cafe still touts the Southold beans, now a proprietary blend.
In the mornings, you can get a drip ($3.50), cold brew ($4) or latte ($4.5) like the “Bee Sting,” espresso with honey and steamed almond milk ($5). Pair with stuffed breakfast sandos including the bun ($15) which is a fried egg cooked to order, bacon, avocado, caramelized onion, arugula, and lemon aioli, on a toasted potato bun or the layered feta and avocado sourdough toast topped with radish, cilantro, and sliced Fresco chili ($14). In the evenings, don’t miss theespresso martini ($18), a spicy version can be paired with a tasting of Parmesan and dark chocolate, and on Friday nights, oysters from nearby One Happy Oyster.
Everything here is made by hand, from the ketchup to the granola. The design of the space is just as meticulous, from the lettered wall menu to the day-to-night, coffee-to-cocktails cabinet, to the bean bags. Pro-tip: Look up, the ceiling is gorgeous.
More info: 59 Main St., Westhampton Beach, Open Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., closed Tuesday.
One Trick Pony owners Candice Huffine and Shelly Lynch-Sparks at their Westhampton Beach coffee shop. Credit: Stephanie Foley
Purple Elephant Café, Northport
Seven years ago, Julia and Sam Li opened Northport’s Purple Elephant, a haven for fresh, quality gluten-free and vegan dining options in a casual waterfront space. They recently added an adjacent cafe. Just like its namesake, the Purple Elephant Café is adorned with colorfully painted walls, offering a sunny daytime pit stop and solid jolt of caffeine to Northport residents’ days.
When the scuba shop next door to the restaurant went out, Ien Li said her parents were eager to take over the space. “Our coffee and drinks menu were proving so popular that we wanted to focus a space on drinks and desserts,” she said.
Northport natives, the Lis have some restaurant experience; Sam is a traditionally trained chef. Still, the couple's jump into restaurant ownership proved an “uphill battle.” It was their first time “navigating logistics, as well as a managing a whole team,” their daughter explained. The family powered through and now, “feel lucky to be able to take this next step in this economy.”
Embracing the same mission as their restaurant, the coffees and teas are organic, sourced from small roasters Hamptons Coffee and SerendipiTea. The Lis are finalizing food offerings, which will include local pop-up brands, as well as pastries and desserts, most of which will be made on-site and be vegan and/or gluten-free.
Espresso starts at $3, drip at $3.50, and cold drinks including organic smoothies in flavors like superfruit (blueberry, acai, gogi, pomegranate) and harvest greens (banana, greens), run $8.
More info: 81B W. Fort Salonga Rd., Northport, 631-651-5002, thepurpleelephantny.com; Open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Kismet Coffee Co., Bay Shore
Fire Island coffee lovers rejoice; Kismet Coffee, which was started as a seasonal side-hustle for owner Jackson Davis in 2022, has landed ashore in a year-round operation on Bay Shore’s Main Street.
Davis, who has vacationed on Fire Island since he was a kid, spent more time on the barrier island working remotely during the pandemic. He “quickly got annoyed” with the lack of good coffee available there, so he solved the problem himself with the creation of Kismet Coffee.
The brand first launched as a coffee stand within The Kismet Market, and then moved to The Pizza Shack on the ferry dock. Davis reopened in summer of 2023, adding avocado toasts, pastries and small breakfast bites. Soon Davis realized he was “bringing in not just Kismet folks and day trippers, but people from other parts of Fire Island were biking down to get a latte from us.”
Last fall, as Davis readied to close for the season, the owner of Fire Island Vines wine shop in Bay Shore, Angelo Crisci, approached about the adjacent storefront downtown. Having collaborated on trivia nights at the shop in the past, it felt natural for Davis to set up a of Kismet satellite next door.
The cozy cafe offers two tables for seating, as well as standing room around wine barrels within Fire Island Vines. Beans are roasted in Farmingdale by Flux Coffee; drip coffee starts at $3.50, cold brew at $4.25, lattes at $5, and every kind of milk (including pistachio!) are available. Recommended: Specialty lattes such as the Golden Graham-laced cereal milk latte ($6), which pairs perfectly with the chewy, oversized cinnamon sugar cookie ($3.50), made in-house.
“I wanted this to be comparable to any shop, not just one on an island,” Davis said, and the opening in Bay Shore celebrates that growth. He's also opening another location in Fire Island's Ocean Beach this spring.
More info: 17 E. Main St., Bay Shore, kismetcoffeecompany.com; Open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A cereal milk latte and a cinnamon sugar cookie at Kismet Coffee in Bay Shore. Credit: Newsday/Marie Elena Martinez
Campground Craft Beer & Coffee, Sea Cliff
If you’ve been to Sea Cliff recently, you probably know about Campground Beer Market, a bottle shop and hip, bi-level, industrial bar space complete with couches and pinball machines, which has recently expanded to include coffee.
“Beer and beer culture is very similar to coffee and coffee culture. What you’re drinking is centered around sitting down and talking to people, having conversations, in a casual meeting place,” said Emil Lanne, one of Campground’s founders. Offering coffee was always part of the plan here, but “but was just too much to chew off at the start.”
By expanding the opening hours, Campground has essentially become an all-day bar: Start with a caffeine fix in the morning, do some work on your laptop in the afternoon and crack open a beer in the evening.
Lanne and Pete Johnson, who work in design and advertising, respectively, come at Campground from a style and branding background, rather than a restaurant one. Similar to their approach to beer, which gives patrons the ability to sample smaller breweries that aren’t readily accessible at the bar, and then purchase in their market, their coffee program will approach beans in the same way. But for now, they’re starting off simple. The house roaster is Little Seed out of Vermont, and they’re also featuring for-purchase selections from shops including Invisible Force in Brooklyn, Panther out of Miami, and Sey in Manhattan.
Croissants ($4) are sourced from Pain d’Avignon while scones and biscuits are from The Hungry Gnome, both in Long Island City. Espresso and drip coffee drinks start at $3.50.
More info: 208 Sea Cliff Ave., Sea Cliff, 516-407-3153, campgroundbeer.com; Open Sunday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.
The beer market-meets-coffee shop Campground in Sea Cliff. Credit: Stephanie Foley
A previous version of this story incorrectly described the business that was formerly operating in the Purple Elephant Cafe's location in Northport.
A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.
