Shands General opens in Patchogue

When the State Room opened last summer in Patchogue, the 30-seat restaurant was the thin edge of a wedge with broad culinary ambitions. Now the same team opens Shands General, which chef Francis Derby hopes will become “the kind of bustling community restaurant where you can go two or three times a week, or for a special occasion.”

In 2022, Derby and his partners, Bert Wiegand (beverage director), Julian Rizzo (events director) and her brother, Stephen Rizzo, Jim McPeak and Sean Burke, purchased the BrickHouse Brewery, a groundbreaking establishment that heralded the village’s hospitality boom. Serving refined small plates and craft cocktails, their opening salvo, The State Room, occupied a small space on the second floor and landed on Newsday’s list of 2023’s Top 100 restaurants.

Meanwhile, the team was working on the main floor, getting rid of the brewing equipment and redesigning the space, which is divided into three main areas: A sunny cafe space with floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto the street. A lounge behind this space has a 20-seat bar and three booths each seating six to 10 people. Tucked away beyond velvet drapes is the main dining room, a hushed space with carpeted floors and coffered ceilings. In all, there are 100 seats. Throughout, the décor is luxe without tipping into opulence. An outdoor patio will be added next year, Derby said.

As at the State Room, Derby’s menu relies on local ingredients, many of them from the Brookhaven Hamlet farms H.O.G. and Early Girl. But, he said, “downstairs the platings are simpler and more approachable.”

Starters ($11 to $25) include clams and oysters on the half shell, tahini Caesar salad, “chop cheese” tartine, Long Island duck wings with Calabrian chili and steamed mussels with white wine, kimchi butter and focaccia. There are homemade pastas such as garganelli with summer herb pesto and linguine with clams and sea beans ($21 to $28). Among mains ($24 to $68) are pork shoulder steak frites, fried chicken with seasonal pickles, broiled cod with Long Island grits, filet au poivre and Shand’s burger, topped with Taleggio and onion jam and served on a homemade milk-bread bun.

Speaking of bread, it’s all homemade, from the burger bun and focaccia to the small plate of sourdough with whipped ricotta and cara cara orange jam that should precede any meal. Desserts are comparably accomplished: coffee crème caramel, pistachio tart with strawberries, a towering triple-chocolate pie in a puddle of caramel.

For the name of the restaurant, the partners reached back into Patchogue’s past. The edifice, built around 1840 (and rebuilt in brick, after a fire, in the 1860s) was originally J.S. Havens General Store. In 1914, James Shand took over the business and his family ran it until 1990. Thus, during its 180+ years, 67 W. Main St. has been home to three long-lived businesses. That’s a track record Derby and his team want to continue. “We plan to be in business for another 30 years,” he said.

Shands General, 67 W. Main St., Patchogue, 631-447-2337, shandsgeneral.com. Open Wednesday to Sunday 4 to 10 p.m.