Sale brewing for legendary North Fork coffee shop

Owner selling Aldo’s in Greenport after 35 years

Aldo Maiorana and 103 Front Street (Aldo's Coffee Company, Google Maps, iStock)
Aldo Maiorana and 103 Front Street (Aldo's Coffee Company, Google Maps, iStock)

Every year, someone writes a “discovering the North Fork” story and Greenport gets a little busier — but no bigger.

So anyone who bought commercial property in the modest village decades ago is now looking at a handsome capital gain from the investors buying and renovating  in the area.

But that’s not the reason Aldo Maiorana, owner of Aldo’s Coffee Company, is selling his.

Maiorana, who opened Aldo’s coffee and biscotti shop in 1987, told Behind the Hedges that he’s simply tired after more than six decades in the hospitality business.

“It’s not a matter of time or timing, it’s a matter that sometimes you have to make a decision that may be hard to take,” he said.

It will be a little easier if he gets his asking price: $4.5 million.

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The two-story, 1,700-square-foot property at 103 Front Street is on a 1-acre parcel zoned for mixed-use commercial purposes. It includes roasters, cafe and kitchen space on the ground floor and offices and storage space on the second, the publication noted.

Although best known as a coffee shop, the property has lived several lives, including that of a specialty food store and a restaurant.

A commercial certificate of occupancy reportedly allows for 39 seats. The business is set up with 25 seats inside and 14 to 20 outside on an outdoor patio. It has also been approved for a liquor license.

Douglas Elliman’s Jill Dunbar has the listing. Greenport is the most eastbound stop on the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma line and features a slew of restaurants and ferry service to Shelter Island.

In addition to the property, Maiorana is also parting ways with the business, which sells well beyond Greenport. Grocery store Dean & DeLuca became the first of Maiorana’s wholesale customers of his biscotti. A number of businesses in the Hamptons have also been buyers of Maiorana’s products.

The business sale includes the brand, e-commerce site, equipment and recipes. Maiorana would also entertain remaining involved.

[Behind the Hedges] — Holden Walter-Warner