STILL EVOLVING STILL PARTNERS CELEBRATES SECOND ANNIVERSARY THIS SATURDAY
 Ray Capone and Dan Roth (Photo - Liz Winchester)
June 24, 2015 -- Still Partners in Sea Cliff is turning two years old and to celebrate the occasion the gastropub/live music venue will host a Star Wars Costume party this Saturday June 27. The first phase of the all day event will be from 2 - 4 pm, when the doors will be opened to kids for some Jedi themed fun with lots of give-aways. Wear costumes! At night, "DJ McLovin" will take the stage in the evening spinning some great dance music.
"We are grateful for the support we have in Sea Cliff, the repeat customers, and all people who understand what we are trying to do!" said co-owner Dan Roth, who in the spring of 2013 partnered with his childhood friend Ray Capone to buy the watering hole at the corner of Roslyn and Sea Cliff Avenues that for three decades had been known simply as Partners. "My philosophy from the beginning was that there is no reason we can’t serve great food, wine, and beer, and have live music, all from a little pub in Sea Cliff." Although having made major renovations to the interior of the bar, which included removing the dropped ceiling to expose the loftier coved tin ceiling, and adding a performance stage, Roth and Capone have been tweaking the Still Partners experience as they go along. "We tend to do things little by little and are still doing upgrades," said Roth. Last year, the two made their most significant change, adding a kitchen allowing Still Partners to join Sea Cliff's outstanding restaurant scene offering comfortable "gastropub" fare. "Jesus Torres is our chef and he’s done an incredible job of keeping the food coming out of the kitchen consistently delicious." said Mr. Roth. "He just added pasta primavera and we have put the bratwurst back on the menu with a pretzel bun, fried onions, and cheddar. We have a small staff of very hard workers, both in the kitchen and on the floor!" Now serving dinner seven days a week and lunch Friday to Monday, Roth said that they plan to broaden their lunch experience, adding a “simple lunch menu” to their regular one, and expanding to Thursdays.  Roger Street Friedman Band Performing at Still Partners in 2014 (photo-Northwordnews)
It is the music end of the business, however, that Mr. Roth says he enjoys the most, and he himself can often be found on stage beating the skins. "Being a musician myself, I seek out professionalism," he says in explaining how he chooses what bands to book. "Sea Cliff has a huge amount of talent, I book locals a lot, but also bands from Manhattan or the other end of Long Island and sometimes out of state too. I often will take a chance on a band that I know is great, that people might not know in town yet. It takes time and costs a lot to build a band a following, if you know a band is great you just keep giving them a chance hoping they catch on."
On any Thursday, Friday or Saturday, one can find performing under the Still Partner’s bovine skull, Sea Cliff talent like RiDE or King Fisher or local bands that have built national and international followings, such as Roger Street Friedman and Antigone Rising, as well as musicians from afar, like the Colorado-based Katie Glassman and Slingshot, a western swing band that performed in April. . Both Roth and Capone concede that the bar/restaurant business is not an easy one. “The business is built with headaches because of minor yet crucial things going wrong every day,” says Roth. "It’s still a work in progress," adds Mr. Capone. "Maybe it always will be but, little by little, we try to make things run smoother." But ultimately, the rewards greatly out-weigh the headaches, says Roth. “There are nights that are so special when everybody in the bar knows it. Those are the nights we work so hard for." Come out to Still Partners this Saturday for one of those special nights to celebrate two years of great music, great food and a great time. BACK TO HOME PAGE |
