Skippers Pub in Northport gets a face-lift, new menu after 43 years in business

Real OGs might remember the blizzard of ’78, when snowdrifts could swallow grade-school children. That same year, a house in Suffolk County averaged $48,000 and a cheeseburger cost $2.25, at least at Skippers Pub in Northport, which opened later that year. A cup of Sanka would set you back 50 cents.

Sanka? $48,000 houses? Yeah, a lot has changed, but Skippers has remained a mainstay at the heart of Northport for 43 years — until last winter, when the pub disappeared behind a wall of plywood, undergoing a face-lift. "We had always wanted to do something new with the location, and we decided the timing was right," said Paul Gallowitsch Jr., whose parents Paul (Sr.) and Marie Gallowitsch opened Skippers. "We worked really hard on balancing that vintage style to upgrade the materials and make it look more modernized."

In late May, the plywood came down, and the transformation went far beyond cosmetic surgery: Skippers’ dated brick-and-shingles facade had been smoothed and painted a dusky blue. Inside, the dining rooms were refreshed in nautical tones, with updated booths and windows that dropped away to the street, blurring the lines between diners and the quasi-street party that characterizes downtown Northport these days, at least on the weekends.

What remained: Skippers’ original lettering (now above the booths), the signature portholes and the copper-topped bar, which had gained a respectable patina from decades of pints. "It took 10 layers of polishing to really bring the shine out of it," said Gallowitsch Jr.

The Gallowitsches (who own the entire building, which also houses Maroni Cuisine and Salted. on the Harbor) also rolled out a revamped menu, one that still has cheeseburgers (now starting at $18), wings and a few chops but also a strong spine of seafood, from oysters with mignonette and crab cakes with soba noodles to squid-ink linguine with clams, mahi-mahi tacos and roasted cod rolled in crumbled chorizo sausage. "Our main idea was we’re going from a pub to a nicer, fine dining restaurant," said Gallowitsch Jr., who collaborated with his dad on the project. "At the end of the day, it was like building a whole new restaurant."

Longtime executive chef Donaldo Pavon is now the chef du cuisine; the new executive chef is Jonathan "Joab" Masse. Gallowitsch Jr. added that all of Skippers kitchen staff stayed on through the six-month renovation, weighing in on the new menu.

Soup (French onion, lobster bisque) starts at $9, appetizers at $15 and larger plates at $24, which top out at $36 for grilled filet mignon. Sanka has been replaced with espresso ristretto and macchiato. Fried bananas foster and caramel-bread puddings are among the desserts.

Northport seems to be celebrating the end of COVID with plenty of imbibing these days, and Skippers’ drinks menu does not let them down, with beers arcing from Bud Light to IPAs from neighbor Sand City Brewing Co. The cocktail menu is still in a work in progress, said Gallowitsch Jr., but the bar is already pouring frosé, mojitos and Hendricks Gin cucumber martinis, all $14. There are over a dozen wines by the glass, and a bottle list shows insight into the community Skippers calls home (most bottles are under $50).

Every day, Gallowitsch Jr. said he gets asked about something that didn’t happen during the renovation: A rooftop deck, a tug-of-war with the village for years. "We’re going to revisit the rooftop at some point," he said.

Skippers opens for dinner at 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, and reservations are almost a must. On the weekends, service starts at noon. 34 Main St., Northport. 631-261-3589. skippersnpt.com