Local Brew opens in Eastport

Jennifer Neubauer has made a rousing success of Local Provisions since it debuted in Westhampton Beach in 2023. But the tiny juice-smoothie-salad-and-more boutique could not contain her ambitions and, last month, she extended her brand with Local Brew in Eastport.

Here, you’ll find a similar menu of fresh, healthy options but more pastries, prepared foods and provisions (fresh, tinned, frozen), more gift items, more seating and, for the first time, coffee.

When the space’s former occupant, Eastport General Store, closed in October, Neubauer said, "A number of people reached out to me and said ‘we need you here.’ " It seemed like an ideal location for the East Moriches native, who noticed that the upscaling of Westhampton Beach was poised to move west to Eastport.

She reconfigured the space so that the back wall is now dominated by a green-tiled counter, behind which all the coffee action happens. And Neubauer aims to keep that action as local as possible: Drip drinks are made with beans roasted by Deep Roots Roasting of Center Moriches; espresso drinks use beans from Patchogue-based Ace Coffee. There are also lattes with coffee, matcha and chai as well as hot and iced black and herbal teas and lemonades sweetened with agaves. (Beverages range from $3 to $7.)

Another local coffee feature is the baristas, the mother-daughter team of Jean and Rachel Crawford, formerly of Caffeine Cafe in Westhampton Beach (which closed last year). "I was strong in food," Neubauer said, "but I needed people who were strong in coffee."

Neubauer opened Local Provisions after 10 years of working for a wellness software company but, before joining the corporate world, she had been a private chef and a passionate gardener (she still grows many of the herbs and vegetables she uses in her kitchens). During her previous career, she always kept one toe in the culinary world with a gardening-lifestyle Instagram account, @hookandgarden, where she teaches more than 40,000 followers about growing food and using it to delicious effect. "Local Provisions was really the bricks-and-mortar equivalent of the blog," she said.

At Local Brew, there’s a full range of pastries to accompany your coffee or tea: cookies, biscuits, croissants and muffins from the North Fork’s Ursula Disset (better known as the chocolatier behind Atelier Disset in Cutchogue); scones and buns from Hollow & Hearth, the Flanders-based bakery that also delivers sourdough loaves here every Friday. Most of Westhampton Beach’s toasts, sandwiches ($12 to $16.50), bowls and smoothies ($9.85), soups and salads have made their way here too. Local provisions populate the shelves and freezer case: granola from Mother Cruncher, yuca sticks from Milla’s Puffs, NoFo Pot Pies and bone broths from Fyre & Salt. Customers looking to avoid gluten and meat have plenty of options.

 Not for eating is a small selection of housewares, jewelry, puzzles, knickknacks, craft kits, toiletries and Hamptons Handpoured candles that evoke the spirits of Speonk, Westhampton, Eastport, Remsenburg and East Moriches.

For Neubauer, sustainability means much more than using local and seasonal ingredients. She is committed to serving not only the area’s summer crowds but also its year-round residents — both stores are open seven days a week, all year. And "serving" refers to more than food and drink. "I have always felt like I have a mission to educate people, to teach them where their food comes from and to nourish them," she said. "I really feel like I am living my dream."

Local Brew, 510B Montauk Hwy., Eastport, Instagram: @localbreweastport. Open daily 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.