Business & Tech

Warehouse Collapse Forces Stony Brook Beverage to Relocate

Don't worry – popular local beer and beverage distributor stayed local.

Stony Brook Beverage is open for business at its new location at 718 Route 25A in Setauket – about 50 feet to the west of its old location.

While a large sign in the window of the old building informs customers of the move, owner Bill Seydel, whose family has owned the store for the past 10 years, said some people seem to still be confused about where their favorite beer and beverage distributor has gone.

Seydel and wife Theresa said they needed to vacate their previous building after a rear warehouse collapsed during the February blizzard. 

"All of our back stock was there," Bill Seydel said. "We were able to salvage most of it. We definitely had losses though. We also lost some equipment."

April 24 was their first day open for business in the new store. "Working out the kinks took a week but I think we're flowing nicely right now," Theresa Seydel said.

Stony Brook Beverage's new location is the former home of AA Focus TV Service, which closed when its owner passed away. While the beer distributor's new location is smaller than the previous one, it does feature a 400-square-foot walk-in refrigerator, and it has an increased capacity at its growler bar for 12 beers.

Jaclyn Seydel, one of Bill and Theresa's three children, said figuring out where everything was going to go in a smaller store was a challenge.

"We were used to being able to spread out," she said. "We're doing things smarter, neater, more organized now."

The business – which has been around for about 100 years and was previously known decades ago as "Stony Brook Coal & Ice" – had been in the location at 710 Route 25A since 1952. 

"We inherited the last building when we bought the business," Bill Seydel said. "This is ours. We did it and we're proud of it."

The Seydel family, who can trace back their roots many generations in the Three Village area, said they are quickly settling in to their new location.

"We have a family business in the town we love," Bill Seydel said. "We really wanted to stay local."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here