Art of Eating’s new location at 264 Butter Lane.
With clients like Billy Joel, Tommy Hilfiger and Martha Stewart, they are one of the Hamptons’ premiere event organizers when it comes to catering, wedding planning and event management.
Now after operating for over 18 years out of the Honest Diner in Amagansett, Art of Eating Catering and Event Planning has moved to a new facility in Bridgehampton.
“It’s exciting, but right now it’s just a mess,” said co-owner Cheryl Stair. “It won’t be finished for a few weeks, but I have a tasting there soon, so I’ve got to at least have the front of the building looking good and the back somewhat operational.”
Stair and her husband and partner John Kowalenko left their former facility on Montauk Highway with mixed feelings.
While happy in their old space, Art of Eating began looking for a new space after the diner’s owners, the Honest Man Restaurant Group, announced new plans for the diner.
“We looked and looked for a new kitchen and this was the best one,” Ms. Stair said.
Their new kitchen is located on Bridgehampton’s Butter Lane and housed in the same building as SoulCycle. The new facility offers 3,000 square feet of space that includes a bigger kitchen, a commissary, tasting room and offices.
“There was nothing wrong before, but this is a fresher space,” Ms. Stair said. “We’re making offices right now, and a very big kitchen with storage, plus it’s centrally located, which is great too.”
Along with the more convenient location, Stair marveled at the new facility’s layout and how it will make their operation run so much smoother.
The new space will provide the caterer with plenty of room to create their much-loved cake pops, appetizers—and more.
“Although the old space was laid out well for a caterer, it was designed to be a diner and this place was definitely designed as a catering operation with spaces for trucks to pull in, oversize walk-ins, plus tons of sinks and work space,” she said.
“After 18 years in one location we’ve moved to a new location that is really geared towards our business and industry,” co-owner John Kowalenko exclaimed. “Our whole staff, up and down, from the office to the kitchen to the wait staff are all really excited. It’s almost like a rebirthing of our business.”
The new facility will be crucial to the expansion of Art of Eating’s take-out business, as well as their potato chip franchise.
“It’ll be easier to take out our orders and hopefully even deliver to the Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and Wainscott area,” Ms. Stair said. “It’s going to enable us to do things even more organized because we’re all on one floor now, we’ll be able to see everything and organize our prop warehouse better.”
Mr. Kowalenko said the move and renovation of the new facility gave them plenty of time to take a fresh look at their business, including new design ideas and future goals.
“We want to provide our clients with the best, but we had to really take a look and ask do we want to continue along the same lines and stay at this upper market where our clients expect the best from us and challenge us with every party?” Mr Kowalenko said. “With this new central location, larger kitchen and office facility, we’ll be able to exceed the high standards of service that we hold ourselves to and offer a more complete package, with the expertise that our clientele deserve.”
The Art of Eating is now located at 264 Butter Lane in Bridgehampton.
