For almost 20 years, Beth Pike has been a familiar face on the North Fork, a well-loved bartender, nurse and realtor — and now, she’s setting off on a journey to realize a lifetime dream as she prepares to open the Deep Water Bar and Grille on Front Street in Greenport.
Pike, who lives in Mattituck and worked for 18 years as a bartender at Claudio’s, retired from that post last year and said she found herself with the opportunity to open the new eatery; Deep Water Bar & Grille is located where the former BBQ Bill’s was sited.
After raising four children, Matthew, Kirsten, Britt, and Emily, as a single mom for 22 years, Pike is ready for the next chapter of her life to unfold: The Deep Water Bar & Grille has a targeted soft opening date on May 8, with an official opening celebration slated for June.
Pike, 58, began working in the restaurant industry early in life. “I’ve always wanted my own restaurant,” she said. “Over the years, my kids and I would talk about opening a restaurant together, but it was kind of wishful thinking. Sort of, ‘I would like to do that,’ but more like, ‘I wish had a pony.’ I never thought it could happen. I never thought I would have the guts to walk away from a steady paycheck.”
But now, Pike has taken a leap of faith and, along with her proud kids, a full circle of supportive friends, and even former customers, she’s working tirelessly to reopen the waterfront space.
The location, at 47 Front Street, is the perfect spot, Pike said. “It’s right in the center of the village and it has the water view.” Plus, she said, patrons can come from Connecticut and the South Fork by boat and walk right over.
The menu, she said, will feature seafood and light American, bistro-type food, prepared by chef Jorge Castellano, formerly of Digger’s in Riverhead.
Most of all, Pike hopes to create a “homey, cozy” atmosphere. “I want it to be a place where everyone is welcome, where they can enjoy each other’s company and not have to outtalk the music.”
Another feature will be dockside service, with a takeout station and delivery to the marina and Mitchell Park. Waitstaff, she said, will wear “noticeably fun attire. You’re going to know who they are.”
Pike plans to be open year-round, seven days a week, from 11 a.m. until midnight during the week and until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturdays.
Opening the restaurant is a labor of love for Pike. “It’s a great feeling. I did a happy dance when I got the lease.”
All her kids, she said, have supported her in following the dream to fruition; her son Matthew and daughter Kirsten were onhand Saturday, helping to get the restaurant ready in time for opening.
As a mom who juggled three jobs with raising four children, Pike said she did her best to make all of her children’s games, PTA meeting and events. Today, her children are following their own paths — one is a doctor, the other, a teacher; her son is a writer and another daughter is studying dentistry.
“That’s what you do, you lead by example,” Pike said. “It’s one thing to say that hard work will get you where you want to be and another thing, to live it. They’re all hard workers.”
Pike’s daughter Emily Ianno said she and her siblings are bursting with pride over their mom’s new business. “Growing up with my mom as a role model has been such a privilege,” she said. “Now that she has accomplished her duties of raising four self-sustaining children, she can refocus on her original passion and take a leap of faith in opening her own restaurant. I cannot explain how proud all of my siblings and I are of our mom and her decision to finally put this into action. We have always known how much this would mean to her and how much she deserves this opportunity.”
And, she added, “Although she is a great bartender, she doesn’t belong behind the bar anymore. She has earned the right to have ‘Beth’s Upper Deck’ — an upstairs bar area overlooking the water — named after her. I could go on and on about how much we admire our mom. Her selflessness throughout the past 33 years is humbling and now I can only hope that this next adventure for our family sheds a light on all she has accomplished. We have been a part of this community for 22 years and are so fortunate to call the North Fork home. We hope to perpetuate the special feeling Greenport offers with our new restaurant.”
The new restaurant is getting spruced up before its opening day. “We pretty much gutted it,” Pike said. “It’s going to be really pretty; we’re going with the seafarer theme. The floors are driftwood gray and Beth’s Upper Deck will be painted a deep, deep blue.”
Most of all, Pike is eager to greet all the loyal friends she’s made over the years to her own business. Over the course of her time as a bartender, Pike said she’s introduced couples who’ve even gotten married; she attended one such wedding Sunday.
“I was there for the first date, the day they got engaged, they day they got married,” she said, of some of the couples she’s introduced.
Making people feel at home is Pike’s hallmark. “When you say ‘hello’, and you really mean it, it’s different than people who just say ‘Have a nice day” on the phone. It’s more than just being a bartender or an owner, it’s about wanting people to have a good time. No one goes out to be miserable. I want to help them to enjoy themselves and do it in a way that doesn’t break the bank and they don’t feel uncomfortable. I want this to be a local place. Locals need someplace to go year round.”
After leaving her longtime bar-tending job last year, she added, “I couldn’t bear not seeing my customers again, so I did this, I opened this restaurant. It’s not just for me. It’s for everyone.”
Even some former bartenders she’s worked with over the years will be joining Pike in her new venture. And it’s those friendships, the bonds she’s made over the years, that have made the experience so deeply meaningful so far for Pike.
“The most fulfilling part has been having everybody come together, to see everyone working together to make this a reality. Even my customers are helping me — someone is helping with the heating, another with plumbing. Friends and family and customers, all showing up to help without my even asking them. That’s what our community is about.”
