East Coast Burrito Co. Opens in Setauket

When it comes to the restaurant business, certain best practices exist across all eateries that do well: hiring great employees, developing a compelling menu, listening to customer feedback, making sure everything is fresh.

That's according to Tom Freck, co-owner of East Coast Burrito Co., a new fast-casual Tex-Mex eatery that opened in April at 736 Route 25A in Setauket. Freck and partner Tim Martino are no strangers to the restaurant business: Freck has owned Portside Bar & Grill in Port Jefferson for almost five years, and Martino was a longtime chef at Toast in Port Jefferson.

Freck said many of his experiences at Portside will carry over to his new restaurant, which he said he believes will fill a void in that area. He said customers would have to go to Salsa Salsa in Port Jefferson or Green Cactus or Cabo Fresh in Stony Brook to get something similar, but not exactly the same. 

"The concept we’ve been working on a long time, experimenting with flavors and such," he said. "I think we put a different spin, a different flair here."

Expect to find menu items such as tacos, quesadillas, salads, taquitos, chili, wings, fries, and burritos. There's also a build-your-own-burrito option – and lots of homemade sauces, such as honey chipotle sauce.

Freck said he chose the location because it's a standalone building in a heavily trafficked area that has plenty of parking and the potential for outdoor dining. The building, which formerly housed Melville Grill and Cuzzin's Smoothie Cafe, has had some recent turnover, which Freck said he was concerned about to some degree.

"It always makes you wonder why, but I felt the location was perfect for what I wanted to do," he said, "so even though it turned over a few times, I think we are going to succeed."

Freck said early signs are encouraging: despite not doing any advertising yet, there's already good lunch and dinner traffic.

"We figured we’d open up and have a soft opening," he said. "We opened the doors and there was a line out the door for the next seven days. So much for a soft opening."

East Coast Burrito Co. (631-675-9119) is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.