GREENPORT, NY — A beloved North Fork eatery that was a gathering spot for decades — and was then brought lovingly back to life by new owners last May — has closed its doors.
Skippers II, located at 4545 Rt. 25 in Greenport, is now permanently closed, owner Cynthia King tearfully told Patch.
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“Everyone knew how much we wanted, in our hearts and souls, to resurrect this place,” King said.
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King said she and her husband Buzzy tried valiantly to save the iconic destination. “We feel terrible,” she said. “But we didn’t have the volume to keep going forward.”
Other factors, including the economy, inflation, and the difficulty in finding help, as well as issues with the rental space itself, played a part in the couple’s heartbreaking decision, King said.
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“We’ve been told by many people that were our faithful customers that we provided a great atmosphere, a place where people were comfortable — just a great experience overall, with great food and service. But we just didn’t have the volume.”
On Friday, King and her husband made the final decision. “We spent the weekend clearing out of there,” she said. There was no St. Patrick’s Day celebration, no joyful toasts and heaping platters to serve, despite the couple’s hopeful plans.
“Every holiday, we had no business,” she said. Despite going “all out” for the Super Bowl and other big days, the crowds they’d imagined while breathing life and hope into their dream, never materialized.
The pair even sponsored Bobby Corwin’s car at the 66th annual Daytona 500 — “Skippers II” on the side of the shiny vehicle — but the event was rained out.
The Kings spent much time promoting events on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on local radio.
“We tried so hard,” she said. “I can’t cry any more than I have. My husband and I were hysterical this whole weekend. We just couldn’t believe it — but on Friday, we were faced with that make-or-break decision. The last two weeks were terrible, no business,” she said.
There had been so many plans for the upcoming summer, shimmering visions of opening up the outside veranda, a beautiful space overlooking the nearby golf course — with bands, a raw bar, a barbecue . . . something different for guests every Saturday.
“We tried to do everything the right way,” King said. “We tried to do everything we needed to do.”
So many factors led to the demise of the beloved spot, King said. “They don’t make it easy for you.”
King said the decision rocked the couple to their very core. “We’re overwhelmed.”
Her voice laced with sadness, King said the customers she’s told about the sad news are heartbroken, upset.
“I feel like I’ve let the community down,” King said. “We were so pumped. We wanted this to work. We’re regretful about the whole situation. It’s just very disheartening, very sad for us.”
She added: “Skippers II is no more. We’re closed permanently now.”
Her dream originally was to buy the property outright, but that vision faded in the face of a harsh economic climate. “I can’t stand driving past now,” she said. “To know that we’re not there anymore — I can’t even look at the building.”
The restaurant, located near Island’s End Golf & Country Club, was owned first by Joan and Roy Tate, then for more than three decades by Bobby Heaney, who retired in 2016; Skipper’s then changed hands and restaurateur Bryan Villanti opened the doors as Rocco’s Caddyshack in 2018.
Rocco’s Caddyshack then closed, and last year, King said she wanted so badly to write the iconic eatery’s next chapter.
“The community and the locals needed to have this,” King told Patch last year.
King said she had received encouragement and support from both Heaney and Villanti as she embarked upon her venture. “They both helped me immensely,” she said.
Skipper’s II featured a menu designed to bring back some of the options previously offered at the first Skipper’s, she said.
For scores who had long loved Skipper’s, King had hoped that the restaurant’s opening would feel like going home.
“The only changes we made were cosmetic,” she said. Her main goal, King added, had been just “trying to be fair on the prices.”
King said Skipper’s had been a family business; she thanked her husband Buzzy, and her three children and grandchildren.
King worked at Eastern Long Island Hospital for 17 years. “Then, in between, I had various jobs, but just couldn’t find my niche,” she said.
The mother of three beautiful children and “the two loves of my life, my grandchildren,” she said she often frequented the original Skipper’s and Rocco’s Caddyshack. And in her heart, a dream was born. “I always told myself, ‘This is going to be yours someday.'”
King said she made sure to secure the original Skipper’s stained-glass window, to “show the community that we care.”
The window had been replaced with the Rocco’s Caddyshack sign, she said. “We felt that this piece of history from the old Skipper’s needed to come back.”
And now, she said, when she locked the doors for the last time, she took the stained glass window home, to keep it safe. “We always loved it — that’s why we put it back there,” she said.
Sadly, King added that the future remains uncertain. “At this time, we just need to take a break. We’ve been going full throttle for 10 months. We may move forward with something else, down the line. But not now.”
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