Naturally Good on Main Street

    The owners of Naturally Good Foods and Cafe in Montauk are planning to open a restaurant on the hamlet’s Main Street, opposite Herb’s Market in the space formerly known as Mtk Cafe.

    Like their shop and cafe on South Etna Avenue, the restaurant will serve healthful food, but this eatery will stay open for dinner service. There will be beer and wine, which will be “all organic and biodynamic,” Lauren Katz, one of the owners, said Sunday.

    “We’re trying to keep the same feel as here,” Andrea Mavro, her business partner, said as she stirred a pot of vegetable soup in the café’s tiny kitchen. “The only change is we’re going to try table service at dinner, but it’s still relaxed, not a restaurant feel, more like a café.”

    The name, Naturally Good, will be moving to the Main Street store as will many of the organic groceries that now take up the bulk of the small space at the original Naturally Good, which will eventually be called Naturally Good To Go. On Main Street, the menu will be expanded from what is offered now on South Etna. Specials like fish tacos and grilled organic chicken wraps will have a fulltime spot on the menu.

     Naturally Good To Go will no longer offer hot food to order, Ms. Katz said. People will be able to grab a cup of coffee, baked goods, or a smoothie on their way to the beach, as well as already prepared wraps and salads.

    “I know people like the feel here,” Ms. Mavro said. “I think some people will order on Main Street and still come in here to sit in the garden. We’re doing a garden there, but some people like to be off the beaten path.” They are also adding about 400 square feet behind the restaurant for storage, along with a small garden dining area.

    The path for the two women to get all the needed permits from the town and county has been a bit daunting. Ms. Katz and Ms. Mavro had planned to replace the septic system at the new spot this year, but decided instead to refurbish the existing one for the time being.

    “We wanted to do everything the right way.  We heard that there had been problems in the past,” Ms. Katz said, however, because a new septic system requires approval from Suffolk County, that can take time and require a public hearing before the town planning board.

    “It’s been like, 50 phone calls every day,” Ms. Mavro said, “and, you pay for every application, just for them to look at it.” Still, she is very appreciative of the way the East Hampton Town Planning Board has helped her and Ms. Katz through the system.

    “Crossing all fingers and toes, and praying to all gods,” Ms. Katz said, they hope to have all the needed permits in place and to be open at the new location by Memorial Day weekend.