La Plage Bistro to open in former brewery location

In the latest Bellport Village restaurant news, La Plage chef and owner Wayne Wadington has announced plans to fill the old Bellport Brewing Company located at 14 Station Road.
Building owner Frank Trotta confirmed the news noting the building was originally built by his father for use as a post office and known for years as the Meritage restaurant.
The brewery closed shortly after the death of one of the owners Brian Baker in 2022. Since then, the location has received several inquiries to fill the vacancy.
“We were trying to find something fitting to Bellport, a restaurant that wouldn’t duplicate what’s already in the village,” said Trotta.
His hope was to find someone with a track record that could provide good food on a regular basis.
“We narrowed it down to Wayne and La Plage, he has a stellar reputation and has been in business for 30 years,” Trotta added of the decision. “Wayne has an excellent following and talking to him and looking at his menus we think it’s going to be a home run for the Village of Bellport.”
La Plage is a fine dining destination located in Wading River, known for its premier and creative French-American cuisine.
Wadington said his plans for the location will be to replicate La Plage’s bistro nights into the full-time restaurant. The Bellport location will be named La Plage Bistro, which will serve upscale dining that isn’t only reserved for special occasions.
“The way it came about, is at La Plage in the wintertime on Friday nights [we host] bistro nights with a lot of traditional French bistro type food,” he said. “The nights became very popular and people really enjoy it.”
The bistro menu includes favorites like steak frites, coq au vin, and beef bourguignon.
As for why Bellport Village, Wadington said he has become fond of the village after having his first date at the Bellport Inn, of which he modeled some of his original La Plage location after. Since then, he has also become more familiar with the area after meeting his girlfriend, Christine Schaeffer, through Eileen Green Realty.
“I have really gotten to know the community,” he said.
Originally, he was looking to open a second location for his other venture Mesquite Tex-Mex, which is also located in Wading River, however, when looking at the Bellport Brewing Co. space, he said he knew it was the perfect place for the bistro.
“It has been on my bucket list for a very long time,” he added.
Wadington plans to serve as sole owner and executive chef pulling lots of help from the Wading River location as well as hiring new people.
The space is in the midst of a facelift renovation with a bigger bar seating up to 15, a new open cold kitchen for shellfish, and adding classic French bistro décor with tile and globe lighting. His target date for opening is this Spring.