Following failed negotiations with their landlord, owners of Greenport’s Little Creek Oysters announced last week that they would have to close the beloved bait shop-turned-oyster shack behind Bootleg Alley and relocate to 211 Carpenter St., formerly occupied by Greenport Distilling.
A bittersweet and emotional farewell celebration was held Sunday at the shack following Greenport Harbor Brewing’s annual Oyster Fest, during which partners Ian Wile, Rosalie Rung and Travis Zurawski spoke to a packed crowd of dedicated regulars.
“I had my first date [with my wife] here, I married and I have a daughter who thinks she runs the place,” said an emotional Zurawski.
“Ten years ago, my only goal was to find a way to support ourselves so we could live here,” Rung said. “We’re still here, so it looks like we won. Since then, we’ve been able to make this place without any plan. We made a place where strangers become friends, couples become families, and we table-danced the f— out of it!!”
Finally, Wile addressed the crowd.
“I’m so proud of our team,” he said in between eruptions of raucous applause. “It’s a scary moment for the people who work here to wonder if the bedrock went out from under them … we couldn’t have done any of this without all the people who have come through these doors. When we started, we didn’t know anything and we still don’t know much, and we all helped each other to keep from drowning. You’re all my heroes.”
Following heartfelt speeches by the Little Creek team, in which each member thanked the community for their overwhelming support, Wile led the large crowd in counting down from 10 before “dropping the anchor,” a clever take on the New Year’s Eve ball drop, two months ahead of Little Creek’s planned annual tradition.
Coincidentally, the anchor drop and farewell party took place on the day of Wile and Rung’s wedding anniversary.
Perhaps in keeping with Little Creek’s whimsical and improvisational spirit, the Little Creek team then led an impromptu parade to Carpenter Street, complete with the company’s pirate statue, and its new location. Mr. Wile opened the doors to the two-story building for an informal after-party.
Little Creek’s owners are among the original members of the Suffolk County Aquaculture Lease Program. They have said they hope the new location will be ready to open in time for Greenport’s annual Shellabration in December.
