"Port Jeff Brewing was at the heart of our community for many years and we are so glad to have another brewery come in and continue to be a place where people can gather and come together," Mayor Lauren Sheprow said at the August ribbon-cutting for Montauk Brewing's Downport taproom, as the Long Island Press reported.
That ribbon-cutting was the first of two handoffs on Mill Creek Road this year. A month later, the street's other well-known address went dark and a new tenant signed on. Both changes land in the weeks between the Scarecrow Walk coming down and the 30th Charles Dickens Festival drawing visitors from across Long Island. Theatre Three fills most of that gap, the festival opens with a night set aside for village residents, and in 2026 the Downport end of town is under new management.
Two addresses on one short street
The brewery space at 22 Mill Creek Road housed Port Jeff Brewing Company for 15 years. On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Montauk Brewing Co. held a "wave-breaking" ceremony there to open its new Downport taproom and brewery. Sheprow, Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce president Steve Munoz, Montauk co-founder Vaughan Cutillo, and Carrie Shafir of Tilray Brands, Montauk's parent company, were there for the opening. According to a Greater Long Island walkthrough, the taproom is about 800 square feet. The Long Island Press adds that it has a seven-barrel brewhouse.
The seven-barrel system is the part to watch. In the same Long Island Press piece, Cutillo said Montauk planned to start brewing in Port Jefferson "later this year," with special beers modeled on its Brew Barn Series. For now that's a plan. No announcement has said the first Port Jefferson batch is on tap. At the August opening, guests drank Montauk's full lineup, including flagships like Wave Chaser IPA.
Montauk's location page posts these Downport hours:
- Monday through Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m.
- Sunday, noon to 7 p.m.
Down the street, 5 Mill Creek Road had been Gourmet Burger Bistro for 18 years. Owner Mike Napoli announced the closure in September, according to Greater Long Island. Both of the street's anchors changed within about a month, and both replacements run on a different clock from the businesses they followed.
A daytime room at No. 5
The new tenant at 5 Mill Creek Road is The Canopy Club, owned by Mitch LaBianca. When Greater Long Island announced it on Sept. 23, it described a sit-down social room, and LaBianca explained the idea this way:
"The idea is to give people a place where they can sit down, have a good meal and enjoy themselves without the typical bar atmosphere."
It's built around breakfast and lunch. The same report previewed pancakes and eggs, a tiramisu tempura French toast, a fried-chicken "disco Benedict," and a stuffed waffle with mesquite chicken and pineapple chutney. Lunch includes salads, sandwiches, seasonal pasta and Marsala toast. The membership is what sets it apart. It's optional, costs $30 a month, and includes a free cup of coffee every day plus discounts on merchandise and catering. LaBianca's pitch to regulars is that the fee comes to less than a daily coffee habit.
The opening date is still moving. The September announcement said mid-October with daily hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. As of Oct. 19, the club's own site still said "Opening Soon" and listed 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Check that site before you walk down for breakfast.
Put the two schedules side by side and Mill Creek Road covers most of the day. The Canopy Club is set to serve from 7 a.m. into mid-afternoon, and Montauk opens its taps at noon. In November, that means one short street can cover a weekend breakfast and an early-evening pint.
The calendar between the scarecrows and the lanterns
Here is what's on the village calendar, in order, from this weekend to the Dickens kickoff:
- Through Monday, Nov. 2: The Port Jefferson Scarecrow Walk stays up on East Main Street, per the Chamber's events calendar.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Village Trick or Treating, listed by the Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Theatre Three opens its annual production of A Christmas Carol, running through Dec. 27.
- Thursday, Nov. 19: The New York Bee Gees play Theatre Three for one night.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Theatre Three's children's show, Barnaby Saves Christmas, opens and runs through Dec. 27.
- Friday, Dec. 4: The lantern dedication and Village Residents' Night kick off the Dickens Festival.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6: The Charles Dickens Festival, in its 30th presentation.
That list shows the holiday season starts at Theatre Three a full four weeks before the festival. A Christmas Carol runs for seven weeks, and four of them come before the festival opens. Seeing it on a mid-November weeknight means skipping the festival-weekend parking.
Dec. 4 is the residents' night
The festival's own numbers explain the shuttle. At an Oct. 12 press conference, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council chair Allan Varela said the village would host about 125 to 130 costumed street characters, carolers and performers at locations around town, according to TBR News Media. A shuttle bus will run festivalgoers in from outlying parking lots.
The festival began in 1995, and the Arts Council took over production in 2005. Because the 2020 festival was canceled during the pandemic, this year is the 30th presentation, not the 31st. Here's how the weekend is laid out across the village, per TBR's account:
- Port Jefferson Village Center, second floor: the Festival of Trees.
- Village Center, third floor: four new, larger-than-life, locally made papier-mâché Dickens characters, which Varela singled out among this year's additions.
- Harbormaster Building: Tiny Tim's Train Station.
- East Main Street: the Grand Opening Parade, Saturday at 11 a.m.
- Sunday at 5 p.m.: Pickwick's Puppet Parade closes the weekend.
There will also be a radio-style presentation of A Christmas Carol, concerts, holiday crafts and Dickens readings, with programming at village churches, the Masonic Lodge and Theatre Three. Varela said more additions would be announced closer to the weekend. Except for activities at the Masonic Lodge and Theatre Three, "everything is free," he told TBR.
The festival is produced by the Arts Council with the Village of Port Jefferson, and Northwell-Mather sponsors the Friday kickoff. Residents' Night sits right at the edge of the calendar. It's the last evening of the quiet stretch, the night before the parade, the shuttle and the out-of-town crowds. The full weekend schedule will be posted at the Arts Council's Dickens Festival page as the additions are confirmed.
How the weeks line up
Halloween and the Scarecrow Walk close out October on East Main Street. A Christmas Carol opens Nov. 7 and holds the middle of the month. The Bee Gees night and Barnaby Saves Christmas fill out the week before Thanksgiving. Then Dec. 4 hands the village to the festival. Downport covers every week of it: a brewery that may be pouring its first Port Jefferson-brewed batch before the year is out, and a breakfast room next to it that's due to open any day.
Mill Creek Road is just a short stretch of Port Jefferson, but changes on streets like this one show up in a home's value over time. If you own nearby and want to know how a year like this affects your property's worth, The Connelly Team knows the North Shore harbor villages street by street and is happy to walk you through it. Request Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll start with the comps closest to your door.
