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Crazy Beans owner Callie Martino inside her new Front Street restaurant in Greenport. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

Callie Martino has always felt a special connection to Greenport.

For many years, the 29-year-old restaurateur’s father, James Brennan, kept his boat there. After he died suddenly from a heart attack at age 57 six years ago, Ms. Martino found herself escaping to Greenport, her “happy place.”

“He had a deep love for this place,” she said. “He loved sailing and during the summer just coming out here and getting on the boat.”

Ms. Martino and her husband, Tim, have a new reason to love this North Fork maritime village, because it’s now where they live and work.

Next week, the couple plans to open Crazy Beans at the corner of Front and Main streets, site of the former Coronet. It’s the third location for their business, which Ms. Martino launched in Miller Place in 2012.

Specializing in breakfast, lunch and coffee, Crazy Beans also has a location in Ms. Martino’s native Stony Brook, where it has developed a reputation as one of the best breakfast spots in Brookhaven Town.

The original Crazy Beans quickly grew in popularity when Hurricane Sandy struck a week after it opened, leaving many Miller Place residents without power and desperate to connect to the Internet at the new local coffee shop.

“That’s kind of how we got our name in Miller Place,” Ms. Martino said.

“It was nice for us to be able to be there for people,” added Sam Graham, who will manage the Greenport location.

The restaurant has a similar look to the other Crazy Beans locations in Miller Place and Stony Brook. (Credit: Krysten Massa)
The restaurant has a similar look to the other Crazy Beans locations in Miller Place and Stony Brook. (Credit: Krysten Massa)

The two women, who have been friends since college, look back on those early years fondly. Ms. Martino said a lot of people thought she was a bit crazy to launch her own business at just 24 years old. But after graduating from SUNY/New Paltz in 2009, she worked in various roles at restaurants and caught the bug.

“I just got to a point where I was like ‘I can do this for the rest of my life,’ ” she said.

Ms. Graham and Ms. Martino said the interaction with customers was the best part of launching the first location and both look forward to creating a similar atmosphere in Greenport.

“We’re so happy and excited to be a part of the community,” Ms. Martino said.

In the kitchen at the new Crazy Beans, you’ll find Tim Martino, also 29, whipping up unique breakfast specials. Like his wife, he has long been enamored with food, growing up in an Italian household surrounded by cooking and attending the baking program at the New York Institute of Technology.

In 2013, he launched his own eatery, the popular East Coast Burrito Co. on Route 25A in Stony Brook. The two met for the first time when he visited Crazy Beans and bonded over being young restaurant owners. They quickly began dating and months later became business partners.

Like its other locations, the new Crazy Beans will have retro decor with fun and inspirational quotes on the walls.

“We want to be that hometown breakfast restaurant that locals and the people who come out for tourist season can all love and enjoy,” Mr. Martino said, adding that he has an appreciation for all of the young entrepreneurs already operating on the North Fork.

Callie Martino as a child with her father, James Brennan, on his boat in Greenport. (courtesy photo)
Callie Martino as a child with her father, James Brennan, on his boat in Greenport. (Courtesy photo)

The café, known for its long list of latté flavors and weekly specials, also plans to serve cocktails that incorporate spirits from other area businesses. They hope to serve North Fork Roasting Co. coffee there as well.

He said he’s witnessed the collaborative way North Fork businesses tend to operate and is excited to be a part of that.

“In Greenport, I see everyone bringing their own thing to the table and it’s really interesting,” he said.

With her husband and her longtime friend at her side, Ms. Martino is looking forward to settling into her new hometown. She also said she feels that her dad’s  spirit has come along for the ride.

“He’s definitely a big part of this,” she said. “I know he always wanted to live on the water somewhere. That’s how he wanted to retire and he never got to do that. In a way, I feel like I’m living this with him.”

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