This past weekend marked a grand celebration on Main Street, the reopening of Bollinger’s Family Restaurant. I knew this to be true when I saw several friends post pictures on their Facebook pages, marked with the location “Bollinger’s” and tagged photos of beaming faces of the kids enjoying ice cream and one enjoying his soup. I am thrilled, and a real cheerleader to see its fortunate return.
Although empty storefronts are an infectious blight of many of Long Island’s once-busiest retail stretches, Bollinger’s resurrection should serve, on a smaller scale, as assurance to existing and would-be Main Street shop owners that business is going to be OK and thrive again in the village; not even bumps in the economy could truly kill a determined decades-old establishment.
A little more than two months ago I interviewed one of the co-owners of Bollinger’s, just days before it closed its doors, seemingly, for good. It was such a sad event, but it did not seem that such a successful diner, especially known for its ice cream, could be knocked completely off, down and out, for good. Unfortunately, it’s happening widely across Long Island, the best business features and articles are now filled with advice from business owners who are weathering the transitions and are still standing.
At a time when village officials are consistently reassuring its Revitalization Plan is forward-moving, a sort of “hang in there, change is happening” motto, the bigger benefit could mean being a model for the rest of Long Island.
Of course, for some business owners along Main Street it’s a return of dining competition, but in general, this is a great thing for residents, diners, and the vitality of Main Street.
— Christy Hinko
