Thatched Cottage deal approved; Jellyfish in Centerport closed for renovation
The Thatched Cottage in Centerport, seen on Jan. 14, 2014. The East Main Street business opened in 1915 as a restaurant. Ralph Colamussi purchased it 26 years ago, running it as a restaurant and catering facility before closing the restaurant. Credit: Ed Betz
The Thatched Cottage in Centerport, a popular catering venue in bankruptcy since early January, was declared in a court ruling Monday to be free to hire a management company owned by Gino Scotto of Westbury Manor. The court also approved Scotto lending money to The Thatched Cottage, according to Avrum Rosen, attorney for The Thatched Cottage.
Next door, Thatched Cottage owner Ralph Colamussi's restaurant overlooking Mill Pond, Jellyfish, is temporarily closed. The place, which opened in 2012, has gone through a series of high-profile chefs. It served sushi, seafood and steaks and sported an aquarium complete with jellyfish tank.
Colamussi said he is renovating the restaurant — adding a wood-burning steak oven, for one thing — and plans to reopen within the next month for dinner and brunch six days a week.
Who will be the chef? “Me,” Colamussi said. Which means the restaurateur will succeed a string of power chefs that has included James McDevitt, Matt Murphy, Danny Gagnon and Heather West. “I’ve cooked for the past 26 years at Thatched Cottage,” he said.
