Milk and Sugar Café in Bay Shore closes after 18 years

Having lasted an impressive 18 years, downtown Bay Shore’s homey Milk and Sugar Café closed Sunday — but the owners have a new restaurant up their sleeves.

Less than 24 hours after they locked Milk and Sugar’s doors for the last time, owners Gina and Lenny Jaworowski were busy starting renovations on their space at 49 W. Main St. and plan to open a farm-to-table eatery called Barn Door 49 early next year, said Lenny Jaworowski.

“We’ve been in the Bay Shore community for 18 years, and it’s time for a change,” said Jaworowski of the cafe, a casual breakfast-through-dinner spot that was one of the pioneers in downtown Bay Shore’s restaurant resurgence.

Barn Door 49 will mirror the times with a “rustic, chic look” of reclaimed barn wood, Edison lighting and exposed ceilings, said Jaworowski. A small-plates menu that’s still being planned will draw on produce from both Long Island and upstate farmers and purveyors. “We’ll have a new menu, a new bar and new drinks.”

Jaworowski will remain the executive chef, and the couple will continue to run their three other food-related businesses: The Victorian Room — a private-event space across the street — as well as barbecue catering and a gourmet cupcake truck.