"We can't wait to have our Main Street businesses come home." For two years that sign hung on Main Street in Sayville. Eileen Tyznar, president of the Sayville Chamber of Commerce, told Newsday in August that she was glad to finally replace it. One business had come home. Her next line was more careful: "hopefully those other three buildings will get built out again."
The fire started on the evening of Friday, October 25, 2024. Flames were first spotted at about 5:40 p.m. Seven businesses were damaged. Three were burned out completely: Cafe Joelle, Paper Doll Vintage Boutique and Boris' Barber Shop. Neither the Sayville Fire Department nor Suffolk County police could determine the cause.
The two-year mark comes this month, and the block's recovery has split along a simple line. Businesses whose buildings were still standing have come back to Main Street. The three whose building was torn down have settled on nearby side streets. In between sits a vacant lot with no public timeline.
The buildings that stood are filling back up
Sayville Running Company was the first to return. Co-owners Brendan Barrett and Michael Nolan reopened at 19 Main St. on August 15, 2026. Their building was partly damaged. Barrett told Newsday it was rebuilt to its original structure, with a new roof and an accessible bathroom added. The store layout changed a bit with new fixtures. The old faux-brick slatwall could not be replaced.
Getting there took close to two years. In the meantime the shop worked out of a warehouse at 35 Overton St. Barrett said foot traffic there was lower and regulars kept the business going. Tyznar pointed to the long permitting process and last winter's harsh weather as reasons the return took so long. The store is back to running shoes, apparel, watches, personalized shoe fittings and timed group runs.
Hammer & Stain comes next, though it isn't fully open yet. The DIY studio at 15 Main St. sat right next to the building that was torn down. Owner Sandra Bernius says the front of her building took heavy water, smoke and soot damage, but the structure held. Since the fire the business has moved around a lot. It ran remote offerings, then a pop-up inside a Bayport flower shop, then about 10 months of classes in the rebuilt rear of the Sayville building. It also opened a second studio at Station Yards in Ronkonkoma in October 2025. The temporary Sayville space closed in December.
In August, Greater Long Island reported a tentative reopening in early October. As of this week, Hammer & Stain's own hours page says the Sayville studio is open only for scheduled workshops, with the front still under construction and the entrance at the back. On October 2, the studio's website posted a construction update about the Sayville store. Once the front opens, Bernius plans glass mosaics and fused glass next to the wood projects and chunky blanket workshops. She is also planning a larger retail side with grab-and-go gifts and items you can personalize on the spot. Holiday parties are scheduled to start in November.
The upstairs offices also stayed close by. Adrian Fields & Associates, the counseling practice the chamber listed among the affected businesses, now gives its Sayville address as 2 S. Main Street.
The building that came down sent its tenants to the side streets
The three businesses that lost everything didn't wait for a new building. Each one found a new storefront a short walk away.
| Business | Before the fire | Where it is now |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Doll Vintage Boutique | Main Street | 106 Railroad Ave. |
| Boris' Barber Shop | Main Street | 46 Railroad Ave. |
| Cafe Joelle | Main Street lease, under renovation | Joelle Barroom + Cafe, 45 Foster Ave. |
Paper Doll Vintage Boutique reopened at 106 Railroad Ave. in August 2025. Boris' Barber Shop moved down the same street to 46 Railroad Ave. Cafe Joelle had already moved before the fire. In the summer of 2024 its partners took a larger space and kept the lease on the old Main Street spot, where they said they were "looking to do something along the Mexican lines." According to Tyznar, that renovation was still underway when the fire hit. Today the restaurant's website calls it Joelle Barroom + Cafe, at 45 Foster Ave.
Railroad Avenue now has two of the three businesses from that building. For anyone walking between the station and Main Street, the fire block's story continues a few doors from the train.
One affected business is harder to trace. The Crushed Olive was on the chamber's original list. Its locations page now lists stores in Babylon, Commack, Stony Brook and Halesite, and none in Sayville. The page doesn't say why.
The lot in the middle
What remained of the burned building was cleared in January 2026. Newsday reported in February that the property, owned by a family trust, is the subject of a lawsuit brought by Paper Doll owner Dominique Maciejka. Her attorney, Vess Mitev, said the land would stay undeveloped "for the foreseeable future" while the case goes on. He mentioned depositions scheduled over several months. Mitev also said Paper Doll's goal is to eventually rebuild on the old Main Street site.
Tyznar told Newsday the owner was weighing "different options" and hoped to have a "clearer idea" by mid-February. She said she hopes "a restaurant and retail will come back there again." No public plan has come out since. In August she put it plainly: "It's going to be a while for the rebuild on those."
Curinne Polizzi, who owns the Ivory & Main bridal boutique nearby, saw it this way: "It's an eyesore now, but … eventually, it will get back to that Main Street where everyone can walk around."
The community has stepped in before. After the fire, Tyznar led a fundraiser that raised $15,000 for each of the seven affected businesses.
The rest of downtown kept moving in 2026
The fire block isn't the only place where the map has changed. This year's openings and closings follow the same pattern: new businesses are opening on Main Street and on the streets around it.
New this year
- Tommy Tacos, a takeout-only Mexican street-food counter, opened February 11 at 371 Lakeland Ave. It shares the address with The BBQ King.
- Off the Bay, a seafood-focused restaurant and bar, took over the former Sayville Bait & Tackle at 220 N. Main St. in March. Co-owner Michael Jordan said the renovation took about 12 days. "We kept the bones of the building," he said, with the nautical feel kept and the décor pared back. The ribbon cutting was covered in the Suffolk County News in June.
- Saturday Candy Co. opened its second shop at 12 Gillette Ave. on April 3. It sells Swedish candy from a self-serve candy wall.
- Fame + Rebel, a women's clothing boutique, opened the same day at 10 Main St.
Closed this year
- South Quarter, the retro, Long Island-themed clothing store, closed in February. Its 10 Main St. space is now Fame + Rebel.
- Crosstown Chef closed its takeout, delivery and prepared-meal business at 399 N. Main St. in March, after six years.
- Metros on Main, known for most of its history as Sayville Pizza, served its last customers on Sunday, September 13, at 60 W. Main St. The restaurant rebranded about three years ago. It called itself an Italian kitchen and "pie bar," with live entertainment and karaoke. "Thank you Sayville for 65 years of support," it posted on Instagram.
10 Main St. shows how fast a storefront can turn over when the building is intact. South Quarter closed in February and Fame + Rebel opened there in early April. Off the Bay went from takeover to open dining room in about two weeks. The empty lot is the opposite case. Its future depends on a court case and an owner's decision.
So a walk through downtown this October looks like this: the running store is back at 19 Main, Hammer & Stain's front is still under construction at 15 Main, and the lot next door is empty. Paper Doll and Boris' are a few minutes away on Railroad Avenue, Joelle Barroom + Cafe is on Foster Avenue, and there's new candy on Gillette and tacos on Lakeland.
For those of us who know this block well, a building's history matters as much as what's on the shelves. Some storefronts change hands in weeks. Others sit tied up in permits and paperwork for years. If you own on or near Main Street and want to know how this activity downtown affects your home's value, Anthony Prettitore is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.
