Shelter Island: Planet Bliss closes; 18 Bay to open

There’s bittersweet news coming out of Shelter Island. Last week saw the closing of Planet Bliss, an 11-year favorite serving the carefully sourced global cuisine of chef/co-owner Sebastian Bliss.

Now for the good news: Moving into the charming vacated quarters is the "slow food" farm-to-table restaurant that put Bayville on the culinary map, 18 Bay.

Co-chefs and owners Adam Kopels and Elizabeth Ronzetti are aiming to open sometime over the summer. And other than the locale, not much about 18 Bay (including the name) will change. “In a lot of ways, it will be pretty much the same restaurant,” said Kopels.

So why the move? “We consider the East End its own food region,” said Kopels, adding that much of the produce served in Bayville came from the East End. That meant constant back-and-forth car trips. Now, said Kopels, he and Ronzetti will be closer to the people who farm and fish for their ingredients. “We wanted to be representative in our terroir,” he said, adding that he and Wolff view Shelter Island as “the center of that terroir.”

Kopels wouldn't give an approximate launch date for the restaurant. Right now, he said, “we will be meeting up with potential staff,” adding “We have a responsibility to the public to be a well-oiled machine when we open.”

18 Bay will be at 23 North Ferry Rd., Shelter Island, 631-749-0053.

To read about the restaurant going into the Bayville space that used to house 18 Bay, click here.

The former Bayville quarters of 18 Bay