New restaurant eyed for Oyster Bay's Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park 

A $1 million plan to upgrade a sewer system in Oyster Bay would allow for a new restaurant to be built at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park and help reinvigorate the waterfront park and hamlet, Town of Oyster Bay officials said.

For years, the concession stand operated sporadically and offered a limited menu. In the spring, restaurateur Rustan Lundstrum purchased the concession. Lundstrum also owns Cooper Bluff and Coach Meeting House, in Oyster Bay, as well as the Sunset Club at Tappen Beach in Sea Cliff. The Town of Oyster Bay operates Tappen Beach.

Town officials are seeking proposals to upgrade the park's infrastructure, including sewers that operate beneath the park. The upgrades would enable a vendor to operate a new restaurant there, town officials said.

Rob Brusca, a board member with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce, said the park concession had been "an ignored venue" for many years. 

A restaurant would make the park a destination for park goers, town and community leaders said.

Town officials have been eyeing ways to better link downtown Oyster Bay with the waterfront park. The town has added new crosswalks and overhauled Firemen's Field parking lot — moves that make the downtown more walkable and accommodating to visitors, officials have said.

In 2019, the town listed the upgrades in its ultimately unsuccessful application for the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

The town is using money from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the government's pandemic relief program, to fund some of the projects.

"That park is a jewel of this town, and expanding it was always part of our plan," Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said. "Part of that is more food choices, and that’s why we’re continuing to explore the idea of an expanded restaurant in the park."

New sewer, new digs

But before any plans are hatched, town officials say the sewer infrastructure serving the building and the park restrooms needs to be upgraded. The aging pump that sends waste to a system on Maxwell Avenue backs up frequently. It is difficult to maintain and access because of its location under nearby ballfields and Long Island Rail Road tracks.

"You have to put in the sewer system before you can put in things like restaurants," Saladino said.

Under the plan, Oyster Bay would install a new sanitary sewer system that is capable of meeting the demands of a large restaurant. The system would route a new pump station to an existing sewer connection in the marina parking lot at the end of the park, officials said.

A new look

Lundstrum said he’s had food trucks at the park this summer as he plans a renovation to the concession stand. He expects the revamped stand to be ready next year.

"We’re going to open up all the windows," Lundstrum said in an interview. "It will almost be like a high-end food court."

When the town starts accepting proposals for the restaurant, Lundstrum said he plans to submit his pitch.

Meredith Maus, executive director of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, said a restaurant would be a welcome destination for pedestrians already walking through the park and the hamlet's downtown — located a few hundred feet from the beach.

"People are now actually walking between the Western waterfront and the downtown much more than they ever have before because it's inviting," Maus said. The effort, she said, is "furthering the connection between downtown businesses and our waterfront."

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ