Barnes Store: New And Old

The Barnes Country Store on Fireplace Road in Springs has changed hands, but the signs of change are just now beginning to show up.

Dottie and Clarence Barnes, the longtime proprietors of the neighborhood deli, retired in January and handed the reins to their daughter, Barbara La Monda, and a partner, Lenny Weyerbacher. The two bring experience and a fresh perspective to the business.

Ms. La Monda grew up in the business. She has been minding the store, so to speak, since she was 16. Mr. Weyerbacher, a former nightclub and restaurant manager, has worked at the deli for the past three years.

He said he sought advice from an old friend when it came time to update the store's offerings. For a week or so, he "shadowed" Stanley Klasik, who owns a deli in Setauket, picking up ideas.

The Barnes store now offers self-serve coffee and hot dogs, a changing hot-sandwich menu, and egg specials as a result, Mr. Weyerbacher said. Hot pretzels, muffins and biscotti, new salad cases filled with homemade salads, and an expanded grocery and drugstore section are other changes.

The new owners are early risers, so the store continues to open at 5 a.m. to host a gathering of early-morning fishermen. Beginning today, Mr. Weyerbacher said, it will stay open until 8 p.m. seven days a week.

All In The Family

The store is still a family affair, with Kathy Barnes, Ms. La Monda's sister-in-law, continuing to serve customers. The rest of the staff is still at work as well.

He and Ms. La Monda are "in it for the long haul, until retirement," said Mr. Weyerbacher this week.

Mr. and Mrs. Barnes are "delighted," he said, that the store could be kept in the family. It was 30 years ago that the couple, both of whom were born in East Hampton, were beckoned back from a short move to Virginia by the news that the store was for sale.

They bought the business and Frank Saskas, Mrs. Barnes's father, bought the land next door, to run a Mobil service station.