Tiny's Famous Eats opens in Riverhead
The soul plate with chicken wings, candied yams, collard greens and cornbread at Tiny’s Famous Eats in Riverhead. Credit: Newsday/Melissa Azofeifa
A name in lights: that dream brought about Riverhead’s new soul food spot, Tiny’s Famous Eats, named after owner Marcus Edwards' mother, Tania "Tiny" Edwards. The takeout-forward space opened last month on Riverleigh Avenue at the former Orale Grill.
In 2020, Marcus' mother started Tiny’s out of her Mastic home after dreaming of seeing her name atop a business, but she had to close five months later due health issues. Marcus saw an opportunity to revive Tiny’s when a friend in real estate told him of the available space on Riverleigh Avennue, and in about four months, the 1,000-square-foot space with seating for 10 was ready for business.
The menu, which uses his mother’s recipes, includes dishes such as the big soul plate ($25.99) with two meats, two sides and cornbread. The regular soul plate ($15.99) comes with one meat, two sides with cornbread. Guests can choose from fried chicken wings, fried barbecued chicken wings, chicken tenders, deep-fried fish bites or fried jumbo shrimp. Side options include mac-and-cheese, candied yams, green beans, potato salad, macaroni salad, sweet cabbage, mashed potatoes, french fries and collard greens. There are also vegetarian options ($15.99 for a large) where guests choose three veggie sides served with cornbread.
The menu is small to ensure quality, Marcus said. "The food that we have on the menu is food that we grew up on, that we eat a lot," he said. "We just wanted the main staples of soul food and wanted to make the food really good." He hopes to add a more extensive catering menu in the future.
Tiny’s Famous Eats, 226 Riverleigh Ave., Riverhead, 631-284-3213, tinysfamouseats.com. Open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.
