New Wine Bar Comes To Port Jefferson Village

PORT JEFFERSON, NY— Port Jefferson's downtown is seeing some post-pandemic new dining options. B.Y.O.G. Wine Bar will be a "low key" wine bar with small plates, the newest business developed by the owners of Prohibition and Torte Jeff pie shop.

B.Y.O.G. stands for "bring your own glass," and owner Lisa Harris hopes patrons will do just that. The wine bar will open this June in the site of Harris' former donut store East Main and Main, at 250 E. Main St. Customers will be able to try wines by the glass, bottle, or receive a discount by bringing their own stemware.

This will be the fourth food business Harris has opened in Port Jefferson.

"I love Port Jeff and investing in the community," she told Patch.

"Food is my passion. I think the more fun things you see here [in Port Jefferson] the more food businesses that open, more will follow."

Besides Prohibition on Main St. and Torte Jeff, Harris opened restaurant Fork and Fiddle in 2019, which closed during the coronavirus pandemic: "It just wasn't the right time," Harris remembered.

So when Harris and her husband were trying to figure out what to do with the donut shop space, that had unique limitations because of its historic building, a wine bar seemed a perfect fit.

"The space is too good so we fit a square space in a round hole," she explained.

The space is zoned as a restaurant but cannot have a full liquor license or a full kitchen, so Harris will use both her Prohibition kitchen and work with "some really cool Long Island businesses" to assemble "Instagrammable" charcuterie platters and small food plates.

"We both love wine and wine bars."

B.Y.O.G. will offer over 20 varieties of wine and light fare like meats, cheeses and hot dips. The aesthetics of her businesses are crucial, Harris says. The wine bar will have an artsy yet cozy vibe with local artwork murals and a custom glass wine bottle wall installation.

Harris said she hopes to open in early June.