{ title: 'The Times of Northport & East Northport. (Setauket, N.Y.) 2005-current, December 29, 2005, Page 4, Image 4', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/2008245210/2005-12-29/ed-1/seq-4/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/2008245210/2005-12-29/ed-1/seq-4.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/2008245210/2005-12-29/ed-1/seq-4/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/2008245210/2005-12-29/ed-1/seq-4/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
Help to: SOLUTIONS -MAC Tel: oe: L6 «01 an Toe t ft s E-Mail: <+ ~ 3% zoes Td. Lom Hands on Training to: web: Wea ¥ su Of U gl HIP &e ghee # eep ok ow # +o CV. 19A. e +020 ' Consultants Network rge: Does Your Doctor Make House Galls? I Do. AT NO EXTRA FEE! HouseCall Doctors is a Mobile Medical Practice that provides complete medical carefrom _J a board certified family physician. +A * 1 Come to You, Wherever You Are ¥ CC * * I Accept Medicare, Empire BC/BS, I Wiltam J. The Empire Plan and MultiPtan » __ Robbins. M.D. « Discounts for Uninsured Patients * No Waiting Rooms 631 741.4323 1&4” A Mortiis www The Timeless Beauty of 5 Aprib CorneCE. Featuring Fashions for Ladies, Girls, and The Home April on the Green Main Street * Stony Brook Village _ / h (next to Robinson's Tea Room) & p (631) 689-2257 A/ Photo by Waren Brovetto Conme Crespin and her husband. Gary, never expected that their cozy little Main Street café would triple as a venue for opera performances, open mike nights and a rotating art gallery. Coffee, poems and arias Caffé Portofino, Business of the Year BY JOSEPH RADIGAN When Connie Crespin and her hus- band. Gary. opened Caffe Portofino on \the sleepy end of Main Street.\ their goal vas fairly «simple they wanted to nin a coffee shop that sold the hasics - coffee. muffins and hot soup. If it could also provide a gathenng place for locals heading to work or return- ing from the dry cleaners or the post office. then they would have accom- plished everything they set out to do In two short yearn. the shop has turmed into does give business a boost, the owners are helping artists prosper apparently without asking for a dime in return. For instance. they don't charge artists a commission to hang their works for-sale on the walls \I feel the artists struggle enough,.\ Connie said. \I don't want to take anything from them.\ Plus, she enjoys the perk of seeing all those paintings every day. The Crespins bought the café in November 2003 and its transformation started barely a month after they opened; an acquain- tance who worked for all the Crespins anticr pated. and more During 'I feel the artists a mover had a ware- house that was quich- daylight hours. patrons struggle enough. I Iy filling up with regularly flow in and out tor their daily cup of some conversation. But don't want to take java. a bite to eat and anything from them.' - CONNIE CRESPIN $400, said Conmic. unwanted pranos and one of them was being offered up for at might, the shop truly comes to life as a free - and often-impromptu venue for perfor- mances by established and emerging artists alike. For ths, The Times of Northport has chosen Caffe Portofino as its 2005 Business of the Year. Connie Crespin was modest in taking credit for the cafe's evolution as a forum for community arts. \I really didn't go looking for this,\ she said. \I did have in the back of my mind that I wanted to have entertainment, but all this just happened. It sort of found me.\ However, the Crespins did more than just open their doors to what has become a grand opportunity for artists. While the influx of patrons on performance nights for the hard to fit patient and the unusual prescription. James G. Metz, Opt., PhD; Specializing in contact lenses Did she want 11? Her answer. you can find a place for it, we'll take it.\ Finding room for the upright piano may have been the biggest crunch she faced sinice buying the cafe. The store- front would never be a candidate for the largest shop on Main Street,; its blunt L-shaped interior is not much larger than the average living room. But space was found, and that was the start of something that she never expected. Within a few weeks, locals who were also performing artists start- ed to gather round the piano and give impromptu performances. A live performance at Caffe Portofino Continued on page A19 til
