New Clam Bar Revamps Patchogue Waterfront

A new restaurant called Bayman’s Clam Bar is taking over the former Harbor Crab site on Patchogue River, with owners aiming to open by Memorial Day. (patch.com) The restaurant is replacing Harbor Crab Co. at 116 Division St., a waterfront property that had housed Harbor Crab since 2001. Harbor Crab closed after nearly 26 years, and owner Mark Miller turned the operation over to Jay Varney and Will Strano last week. (newsday.com) (greaterlongisland.com) Varney and Strano both have Patchogue ties, and Varney is also part of Varney’s Restaurant in Brookhaven Hamlet, according to local reports. The new owners told Patch they want the place to feel more polished while keeping the riverfront setting central to the experience. (patch.com) (longislandadvance.net) The shift comes as Patchogue’s downtown and waterfront keep drawing restaurant traffic from across Long Island. Harbor Crab had long been a seasonal destination for dockside dining, live music and marina access, so the change affects one of the village’s best-known riverfront addresses. (greaterlongisland.com) (scifisland.com) The new concept points in a different direction from Harbor Crab’s tiki-bar identity. Newsday reported the partners started removing palapa walls and bamboo bar elements as soon as they got the keys, part of what one report described as “de-tiki-ing” the building. (newsday.com) The menu is expected to focus on local seafood and a clam-bar format rather than the older restaurant’s broader crab-house branding. Patch reported the owners want visitors to walk in and say “wow,” tying the renovation to a more upscale waterfront look ahead of the summer season. (patch.com) If the schedule holds, Bayman’s Clam Bar will open as Patchogue heads into Memorial Day, when riverfront restaurants typically start their busiest stretch. The handoff closes one chapter for Harbor Crab and starts another at one of the village’s most visible waterfront spots. (patch.com) (newsday.com)