Grey Horse Tavern to close in Bayport

The building at the corner of Bayport Avenue and Railroad Street has housed a watering hole since its construction in 1869, but the latest incarnation, Grey Horse Tavern, is set to close in June. Owners Linda Ringhouse and Irene Dougal announced on Facebook on Friday that they had decided to sell the business.

“It was time,” Ringhouse said, though the decision was a difficult one. “I grew up around the corner from the restaurant, and it was always my dream to own it. It’s been an honor to have taken it over and run it for almost 12 years.”

The two women took over the former Bayport House in 2008 and turned it into a farm-to-table restaurant that was also a vibrant local music venue. The kitchen was run by a succession of talented chefs including the first, Steven Cardello, who went on to run Relish in Kings Park (which he left a few years ago); Meredith Machemer, now chef de cuisine at The Gristmill in East Rockaway; and Lia Fallon, who had been at Amarelle in Wading River, Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport, Brewology in Speonk and The Riverhead Project before landing in Bayport.

The tavern's current chef, Mark Farrell, has run the kitchen for the last two years. 

Grey Horse Tavern will serve its last meal in early June. The Facebook announcement said that the business and the building are for sale, “with hopes that a future buyer will want to continue the tradition and lift up the legacy of this building as a long-standing institution in Bayport.”

291 Bayport Ave., Bayport, 631-472-1868, greyhorsetavern.com.