Jersey Mike's opens on former site of Normandie Inn with 'haunted' legend
The new Jersey Mike’s Subs in Bohemia preserved the architectural spirit of the Normandie Inn that once occupied the site. Credit: Management 360/Seth Goldstein
Subs have replaced spirits.
A Jersey Mike’s Subs opened in Bohemia Wednesday on the former site of the Normandie Inn, which became a restaurant after operating as a speakeasy during Prohibition — and was rumored to be haunted.
“It’s just such an interesting spot. It has so much history on Long Island. So many people have stories to tell about it,” said Seth Goldstein, a partner in Bohemia-based Management 360, which is operating the Jersey Mike’s franchise and owns the Bohemia property through an affiliate, Normandy Inn Property LLC.
Located at 1500 Smithtown Ave., the new sub shop employs two full-time and 18 part-time workers and is Management 360’s eighth Jersey Mike’s on Long Island, Goldstein said.
Founded in 1956, Jersey Mike's has 2,724 restaurants nationwide and “serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread,” according to the Manasquan, New Jersey-based company.
At the restaurant in Bohemia, Management 360 posted a plaque on the front of the building with a history of the site that capitalizes on the spooky legacy of the Normandie Inn.
“Please enjoy our hospitality, our great subs and the good spirits of the New Normandy Inn,” reads the last line of the sign.
The sign uses Normandy instead of Normandie because the franchise group didn’t want “die” in the name, Goldstein said.
“[We’re] trying to clean it up a little. It has a checkered past,” he said.
The original building was constructed in the1920s as a home for a man who said he was a Czech baron, according to Newsday archives. The building, later called Chateau La Boheme and described as a “castle,” served as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
The property was rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who allegedly was killed there.
The Normandie Inn opened in the building in the early 1970s and operated for about 30 years.
The owners of East End Interiors in St. James, Nick Campitiello and his wife, Rosalba, bought the Bohemia property for $525,000 in 2004 and had planned to convert it into an interior design and furniture showroom. That never came to fruition, and in 2020 the property was sold for $320,000 to Management 360 via Normandy Inn Property LLC, Goldstein said.
In May 2022, the franchise group demolished the dilapidated, long-vacant inn, which had been boarded up since 2004.
The sub shop was built to resemble the gothic-styled Normandie Inn, as had been required by the town of Islip.
“When the application came before the planning board in 2020, the planning board placed as a condition of approval of the building permit that they preserve the historic architecture of the Normandie Inn,” said Islip Councilman James O’Connor, who represents District 2, which includes Bohemia.
The Jersey Mike’s is a welcome improvement over the old building, which was an eyesore off well-traveled Lakeland Avenue, he said.
“It really came out great. It looks exactly like these drawings required,” he said.
The new Jersey Mike’s has three levels, but only the 1,500-square-foot first floor is being used for the restaurant, Goldstein said. The 1,500-square-foot second floor holds mechanical equipment, while the third level is a decorative tower.
The initial project plans called for partially demolishing the Normandie Inn to redevelop it as a Jersey Mike’s for about $1 million, including the purchase of building, Goldstein said.
But during construction work in May 2022, the existing walls began to collapse, so the whole building was demolished, he said.
The project cost rose to $1.75 million partly because a new building was constructed, Goldstein said. Other causes of the higher cost included the permitting delays from Suffolk County, and the town requiring upgraded steel, hurricane-proof windows and other modern structural features, he said.
“The windows alone, I think, cost us like $80,000. It’s crazy. And not a single one of them opens,” he said.
Subs have replaced spirits.
A Jersey Mike’s Subs opened in Bohemia Wednesday on the former site of the Normandie Inn, which became a restaurant after operating as a speakeasy during Prohibition — and was rumored to be haunted.
“It’s just such an interesting spot. It has so much history on Long Island. So many people have stories to tell about it,” said Seth Goldstein, a partner in Bohemia-based Management 360, which is operating the Jersey Mike’s franchise and owns the Bohemia property through an affiliate, Normandy Inn Property LLC.
Located at 1500 Smithtown Ave., the new sub shop employs two full-time and 18 part-time workers and is Management 360’s eighth Jersey Mike’s on Long Island, Goldstein said.
Founded in 1956, Jersey Mike's has 2,724 restaurants nationwide and “serves authentic fresh sliced/fresh grilled subs on in-store freshly baked bread,” according to the Manasquan, New Jersey-based company.
At the restaurant in Bohemia, Management 360 posted a plaque on the front of the building with a history of the site that capitalizes on the spooky legacy of the Normandie Inn.
“Please enjoy our hospitality, our great subs and the good spirits of the New Normandy Inn,” reads the last line of the sign.
The sign uses Normandy instead of Normandie because the franchise group didn’t want “die” in the name, Goldstein said.
“[We’re] trying to clean it up a little. It has a checkered past,” he said.
The original building was constructed in the1920s as a home for a man who said he was a Czech baron, according to Newsday archives. The building, later called Chateau La Boheme and described as a “castle,” served as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
The property was rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a woman who allegedly was killed there.
The Normandie Inn opened in the building in the early 1970s and operated for about 30 years.
The owners of East End Interiors in St. James, Nick Campitiello and his wife, Rosalba, bought the Bohemia property for $525,000 in 2004 and had planned to convert it into an interior design and furniture showroom. That never came to fruition, and in 2020 the property was sold for $320,000 to Management 360 via Normandy Inn Property LLC, Goldstein said.
In May 2022, the franchise group demolished the dilapidated, long-vacant inn, which had been boarded up since 2004.
The sub shop was built to resemble the gothic-styled Normandie Inn, as had been required by the town of Islip.
“When the application came before the planning board in 2020, the planning board placed as a condition of approval of the building permit that they preserve the historic architecture of the Normandie Inn,” said Islip Councilman James O’Connor, who represents District 2, which includes Bohemia.
Inside the new Jersey Mike’s Subs in Bohemia Credit: Seth Goldstein/Management 360
The Jersey Mike’s is a welcome improvement over the old building, which was an eyesore off well-traveled Lakeland Avenue, he said.
“It really came out great. It looks exactly like these drawings required,” he said.
The new Jersey Mike’s has three levels, but only the 1,500-square-foot first floor is being used for the restaurant, Goldstein said. The 1,500-square-foot second floor holds mechanical equipment, while the third level is a decorative tower.
The initial project plans called for partially demolishing the Normandie Inn to redevelop it as a Jersey Mike’s for about $1 million, including the purchase of building, Goldstein said.
But during construction work in May 2022, the existing walls began to collapse, so the whole building was demolished, he said.
The project cost rose to $1.75 million partly because a new building was constructed, Goldstein said. Other causes of the higher cost included the permitting delays from Suffolk County, and the town requiring upgraded steel, hurricane-proof windows and other modern structural features, he said.
“The windows alone, I think, cost us like $80,000. It’s crazy. And not a single one of them opens,” he said.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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Newsday Live Author Series: Bobby Flay Newsday Live and Long Island LitFest present a conversation with Emmy-winning host, professional chef, restaurateur and author Bobby Flay. Newsday food reporter and critic Erica Marcus hosts a discussion about the chef's life, four-decade career and new cookbook, "Bobby Flay: Chapter One."
