'The Sand Box' eatery seen as part of Oyster Bay hamlet's transformation

Waterfront views with a glass of wine, a cup of coffee or a plate of clams: The concession stand at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay hamlet has a different look.

Restaurateur Russ Lundstrum revamped the concession building last year and is in the midst of his first full summer running the new waterfront spot, which community leaders said is part of a wider transformation of the North Shore hamlet.

The eatery, called "The Sand Box," features a coffee bar, food options like chicken nuggets, a weekend clam bar and a carousel of food trucks. Lundstrum, owner of Cooper Bluff and Coach Meeting House in Oyster Bay, and the Sunset Club at Tappen Beach in Sea Cliff, said he is eyeing more permanent food truck options and is open to further development of the property.

“If residents want to develop further, then hopefully we’ll develop further,” Lundstrum said in a phone interview.

Rob Brusca, a board member with the Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce, said the community has wanted an “elevated” concession stand option in the park for years “just to make it more appealing to the community to want to go down there.”

Lundstrum first opened the concession at the middle of last year but didn’t have much time to hire staff or expand the menu. He said the exterior of the building was changed alongside other cosmetic overhauls like new plantings and a picnic area.

“This year, it’s kind of trial and error, and then next year we’ll have a real concrete plan,” he said.

Lundstrum said the concession is weather-dependent but is open most summer days between noon and sundown and run until Labor Day. 

Sandra Coudert Graham, president of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, said she’s happy to see an improvement to the waterfront options for residents but wants to make sure parking for nonresidents is managed at the park if the business expands.

“As it grows, we hope it doesn’t grow so big that it becomes a community issue,” Coudert Graham said.

The establishment of the upgraded concessions comes on the heels of a town sewer project that opens the door to a future restaurant at the location. 

The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park sewer project was fully completed last October and cost $911,000. The project replaced the existing pump station, sending concession and restroom waste through a new pressurized sewer main. The construction was fully funded through the American Rescue Plan Act and was created "for potential expansion of the services provided at the concession building," Brian Nevin, an Oyster Bay spokesman, said in an email. 

Oyster Bay officials are eyeing the town’s North Shore hamlet as a new frontier. The town rebuilt Firemen's Field parking lot, which connects the park to the hamlet’s main street; added new raised crosswalks and is now awaiting a possible development in the spot of the former Commander Oil tanks, which for years towered over the shoreline.

The town plans to replace the boat launching ramps at Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park and install decorative crosswalks on its main street leading to the waterfront, Nevin said. 

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ