Dan's Papers - August 1, 2008 - Bridgehampton Candy Kitchen

Since 1925, the Candy Kitchen Ice Cream Parlor and Eatery in Bridgehampton has been a beacon, a low-key place to have a cup of coffee or read the paper while having breakfast, lunch, a snack, or some of their famous homemade ice cream.

Serving the local community with this vital service, the Candy Kitchen has stood up to good times and bad over and over again, and remained the same hub on the corner to all. The swivel stools at the white Formica countertops have seated local regulars along with the likes of Howard Hughes, Truman Capote, Bette Davis and so many other personalities of yesteryear who have have stopped in for a coffee since legendary founder George Starvropoulos opened the restaurant's doors to the Bridgehampton community. During the roaring 20s patrons could have a coffee and read about the exploits of President Calvin Coolidge in the morning papers. Those headlines over the years have covered the Depression, World War II and the presidencies of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson, Clinton and two Bushes.

For the last 28 years the keeper of the flame at the historic Candy Kitchen has been present owner Gus Laggis, who seems to know everybody as if they all went to grade school together. His nod hello is a ritual that still makes small-town America so special to this day. Other friendly staff members include "Cookie," a waitress whose been there perhaps as long as 30 years, and Amanda Lee, a waitress still in her teens, who, in her blue Candy Kitchen tee-shirt and white apron, continues the tradition of local youths 83 years in the making.

Behind the counter and still standing at attention are the old-fashioned stainless steel blenders capable of making three malts at a time. The glasses are stacked the way they have been since Starvropoulos opened the place, as are the metal ice cream dishes. The six-sided white tiles on the floor have stood the test of time as patrons have shuffled to the padded white booths. The hanging sign listing available ice cream flavors has been there forever. I was in there as a child with my father, and as a father, have taken my children there, as well. Almost everybody has stood in front of that ice cream counter and watched their selected flavor scooped into a cone or cup with wide eyes, anticipating the cold sugar blast of homemade ice cream on a hot summer day. It is as American as the Fourth of July, but celebrated every summer day, not just once a year.

At the Candy Kitchen there is a back room where families and groups gather to have breakfast or late afternoon lunches. Although it doesn't have the same feel as the rectangular front room that is right out of a Norman Rockwell cover, it's still cozy and has the feel of Americana 101. The food at the Candy Kitchen is consistent, served hot and quickly, and never disappoints. So many Hamptons vacation mornings have started there over the years, as have spring, winter and fall days for so many of the locals whose short walk to the corner to get a paper, eggs and coffee is a daily ritual. Seeing neighbors greet each other with a nod, a smile, or just an acknowledging glance, is what community is about.

Of course, like all Hamptons establishments in the "season," the Candy Kitchen has moments, like on Sunday mornings, when it hums at full capacity. On those days, the restaurant is filled with the sounds of a busy breakfast place - people talking, forks hitting plates and coffee being sipped. But this is when the seasoned hands and eyes of Laggis come into play. He oversees the business like a maestro of an orchestra, conducting his staff almost without ever saying a word.

The Candy Kitchen's neon signs (now banned from new establishments), along with the stained glass windows, which were crafted by famous Sag Harbor artist Romany Kramoris long ago, are inviting reminders of yesteryear.

Indeed, the Candy Kitchen is the "time machine" of Bridgehampton. It is located on the southeast corner of Route 27 and George Starvropoulos Way, and as thousands of people drive by every summer, it actually greets them like an ambassador to the Hamptons, something it has done since people still rode horses into town. The Model Ts, the Woodys, the T-birds and the convertibles of summer, as well as the Jitneys, have all paraded past the Candy Kitchen, and basked in its local warmth.