For much of 2024, something new was brewing in the long-shuttered storefront next to the historic Peconic Lane Post Office: a coffee shop of futuristic proportions.
Panoramica (2475 Peconic Lane, Peconic), which opens today, January 1, is the newest project by Ian Wile, Rosalie Rung and Travis Zurawski, business partners and owners of Little Creek Oysters, the Sunshine Shack snack bar at Orient Beach State Park and the recently formed nonprofit group the Hold Fast Fund.
“I saw this space for rent,” says Zurawski, who lives close to the shop. “It was a very sad, white box and I said, let’s go for it. Let’s see what we can do with this.”
To help him and his partners uncover the untapped potential of the empty space, they brought in local designer Ricky Saetta, who built nearly everything for the unique concept from scratch. When he altered the front with long, oval windows, allowing passersby to see the space slowly transform into a boldly colored … something, it was like watching a coloring book fill in — but rather than staying inside the lines, this was a completely new creation: A coffee shop with a space age theme.
The secret history of Peconic
As they developed the concept for Panoramica, Zurawski, Wile and Saetta looked into the building’s history. In the second half of the 19th century, the space was known as the Jefferson store, a market with a second floor that held social gatherings, plays and dances. The space also previously housed a Long Island Rail Road station — and has long held onto lingering lore from local storytellers.
“People would get on the train and have to go all the way to Southold and walk back [to Peconic] or get dropped in Cutchogue and have to walk here,” says Zurawski. “So as the story goes, a couple of farmers put goose grease and skunk oil on the tracks to make it slippery so when it tried to stop [in Cutchogue], it would skid all the way to Peconic.”
While the tiny Peconic station shut down in 1970, the vision for Panoramica was, in part, to imagine what it might have been like had the train station been the success Peconic residents had hoped.
“The design brief was, ‘What if they were right? What if an alternate timeline exists if [Peconic] got their stop and it became a trading hub of the future?” says Wile. “It’s not a historical view of what a general store from our ‘timeline’ looks like, but it’s what it might have been.”
To craft this “alternate history” coffee shop, Wile and Zurawski immediately turned to Saetta. Known as Ricky TeeVee on Instagram, hid whose bold and nostalgic designs can be seen throughout the region in places like Times Vintage in Greenport and Eccentric Bagel on Shelter Island.
“Ricky and I had a conversation about how it wasn’t so much being ‘built’ as it being archaeology,” Wile says, likening the creation to more of a discovery that had been there the whole time.
Uncovering a lost age
The space age look of Panoramica started with those curvy oval windows, which became the basis for the store’s retrofuturistic design.
“Everything is soft, curvy and really kind of sleek,” says Zurawski. “Ricky called it a sexy rocket ship.”
“Retrofuturism design was something I was independently very interested in, marking it in the back of my brain as a style I’d like to execute one day,” says Saetta. “When Ian mentioned ‘retrofuturist train station’ it was like he had read my mind.”
Saetta spent months immersing himself in Space and Atomic Age style, and it shows, from a theremin sink in the bathroom that makes an otherworldly sound, to a phone on the wall that plays the moon landing on loop when picked up.
Saetta started building in earnest in May, spending 60-70 hours a week crafting the space. “I live these projects,” says Saetta. “It’s my job, but I also spend all of my free time in these spaces. I can’t help myself. I’m fully consumed until the vision is completed.”
Anyone familiar with Saetta’s work will recognize his signature style upon walking into Panoramica, but it’s still unlike anything he’s ever done before.
“I think this might be my best work,” he says.
A good cup of coffee
Panoramica is a sight to behold, but the style wouldn’t mean much without substance. Zurawski has filled Panoramica with compelling products, including coffee from local purveyors North Fork Moto, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who also make their own proprietary bean blend. Wile had worked with the group before on the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride motorcycle fundraiser in Orient, which raises money for men’s health.
“We have this really nice partnership,” says Zurawski. “They helped us with getting the espresso machine set up and we’re going to use their roast to launch and get us going.”
In addition to the coffee, there will be a menu of breakfast and lunch items, as well as some baked goods. There’s also a retail wall filled with colorful food items that Zurawski has curated to fit the space.
“Most of them go along with the aesthetic,” Zurawski says, pointing to colorful items like bags of Uglies potato chips. The group also plans to carry some local items and branded merchandise, like espresso glasses. “I love product sourcing and discovery, and love trying new brands.”
Regulars at Little Creek Oysters will recognise staff member Kerry McCrossen behind the counter at Panoramica.
“Kerry is a coffee fiend,” jokes Zurawski.
“I start with a pot of coffee and try to switch to a matcha around 3 or so,” she adds, noting how excited she is to work in the space. “Every time you come, there’s something else to enjoy and take in. It’s very unique.”
Zurawski’s plan for the menu — including the retail wall — is to skew a bit healthier.
“I want to make this a sleek, lean and healthy menu,” says Zurawski.
Between Saetta’s striking design and the assured but friendly hospitality of Wile, Zurawski and McCrossen, Panoramica looks to be a thoroughly unique experience on Peconic Lane.
For prying eyes that have been waiting to see what it’s all about, Panoramica is now open from Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Photos by David Benthal
“I can’t wait ’til the public gets to enjoy it and all its magic,” says Saetta.
