Restaurant business wasn't to his taste

Stuart Hayim thinks somebody upstairs sent him a message: Don't go into the restaurant or catering business. Stick with selling cars.

Hayim, owner of the Ferrari-Maserati of Long Island dealership in Plainview, thought of opening a restaurant on the second-floor of his business, replete with a glass floor so diners could look down on the cars as they ate and drank.

But then there was a concern: what people might see if they looked up.

So Hayim settled for partnering with Glen Cove caterer Elegant Affairs to rent a second-floor, 7,000-square-foot room at his place for "upscale parties and events." The first of them was to be last night.

But even before the first party, there was a problem.

The elevator that takes Ferraris and Maseratis up and down -- the same elevator that was going to be used to take catered food to the party -- broke down. Hayim said he had to offer a repairman $1,000 to come right away to fix it.

"I've also got two customers waiting for cars that are stuck on the second floor," Hayim said. "I said to my wife, 'God's giving me a message here. Stick to cars.' "

Hayim said the parties will be thrown "infrequently" and will be used as a way to show people the cars in a relaxed atmosphere.

"I don't want to flip burgers at my age," Hayim, 64, said. "I don't want noise. I don't want a mess. If we have a wonderful time and somebody twists my arm, I'll do it again, but infrequently."