Italian restaurant La Fontana in Melville hidden by corn stalks

La Fontana, the Italian restaurant on Route 110 in Melville, is in danger of disappearing. The north-facing entrance to the restaurant has been all but obscured by stalks of corn. "Honestly, I planted it as a joke," said owner Lorenc Djeka. "I had no idea it would grow so quick and so tall."

Djeka took over the restaurant from its founder Tony Dushaj almost three years ago and has left the menu essentially unchanged. He said that he'd been planting tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables all along, but this year he sowed corn after being encouraged by some of his Latin American busboys. He's hoping to harvest it in September but allows that even though it is almost as high as an elephant's eye, no ears have yet appeared on the stalks.

"Worse comes to worse," he said, "I may have to buy corn and tie it onto the stalks.

La Fontana is at 672 Walt Whitman Rd. in Melville, 631-673-1766