North Fork Buzz
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🐝 Town Beach Erosion

🐝 Town Beach Erosion

Shrinking Shoreline, Training a Future Service Dog, Restaurants Reopening

Thomas Loncar
March 06, 2026

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Good Morning, North Fork! We made it to Friday, which feels like a perfectly acceptable accomplishment.

In today’s North Fork Buzz:

Shrinking Shoreline
Training a Future Service Dog
Restaurants Reopening

Ready, Set, Go!

The Lowdown

Shrinking Shoreline 🌊

For weeks now, the parking lot at Southold’s Town Beach has been closed after the Long Island Sound did what it’s been doing more and more of lately: eating the shoreline.

Erosion has ripped up chunks of asphalt and left the edge of the lot hanging over a steep drop to the beach. Still, that hasn’t stopped some sunset seekers. Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski recently spotted about 20 cars there, with drivers moving barricades to squeeze in for the evening view.

Town officials are trying to stay ahead of the damage. Supervisor Al Krupski says the plan is to reopen the eastern side of the parking lot while fencing off the unstable western portion to keep cars and foot traffic away from the crumbling edge.

The beach itself may shift too. The lifeguard stand and swimming area could move farther east this summer as the shoreline continues to shrink.

Get the full story 👉 East End Beacon

Training a Future Service Dog 🐕

Three and a half years ago after losing her husband, Greenport resident Eileen Lederer was searching for a meaningful way to fill her days.

She found it in the form of an eight week old black Labrador named Smiley.

Lederer signed on as a volunteer “puppy raiser” with Canine Companions, the national nonprofit that trains service dogs for people with disabilities. That means taking Smiley home at just eight weeks old and helping shape her into a confident, well-mannered dog ready for professional service training.

Volunteer raisers keep the dogs until about 16 months old, teaching early skills like socialization, crate training, public behavior and basic commands. After that, the dogs head to Canine Companions’ Medford training center for six months of advanced instruction, where they learn complex tasks like opening doors or retrieving dropped items.

For Lederer, who has owned several dogs before but never trained a service animal, the process is both demanding and deeply rewarding.

Get the full story 👉 North Fork Sun

Photo of the Week

📸 submitted by Susan Somerville

Tag @NorthForkBuzz or email us at [email protected] to get your photos in The Buzz!

Foodie Friday 🍽

Cabin fever is real this time of year, and we definitely have spring on the brain. If you’re looking for that little glimmer of hope that warmer, sunnier days are on the way, one of the North Fork’s most reliable signs is starting to appear: restaurants reopening for the season.

For this week’s Foodie Friday, we’re highlighting a few spots that are freshly reopened or will be back before we know it.

🐟 A Lure Chowder House & Oysteria reopened yesterday, March 5, and we’re already dreaming about seafood dinners with a view. They’re currently open for dinner Thursday–Sunday, plus weekend lunch.

🇬🇷 Hellenic opens tonight, kicking off their 50th (yes…50th!) season. They’re celebrating with their first cocktail hour of the year from 5–6:45 PM, gathering on the patio for cocktails and appetizers. Choose from a glass of wine, beer, a zero-proof creation, or classic lemonade, paired with butler style hors d’oeuvres that make it hard to stop at just one. Check out their website for more details.

🌴 American Beech will reopen the first weekend in April. We’re already hearing some buzz about very exciting things planned for their reopening and the season ahead, so stay tuned.

🐟 Little Fish returns on April 3, and honestly we can practically taste the Caesar salad already. We can’t wait to get our fix of the menu staples and see what new things they’ve been cooking up over the winter.

🥃 Brix & Rye and 🍕 1943 Pizza Bar have been open through much of the winter but are taking a well deserved break until March 26.

🍀 First & South is doing the same, with a short winter pause before reopening just in time for St. Patrick’s Day on March 17.

Little by little, the North Fork is waking back up. Spring isn’t quite here yet… but the signs are definitely starting to show.

Nothing in this section is sponsored. They’re just fun things you need to know. I’ll always let you know when something is sponsored

A Quick Reminder: We Want Your Recipes

Just a reminder that we’re opening up this Foodie Friday space to you, we’d love to start highlighting your go to dishes in upcoming Foodie Fridays. Have a recipe you swear by? Send it over.

How to submit:
Email us at [email protected] with:

The recipe (ingredients + steps)
A photo (even an iPhone pic is perfect)
Your name
Optional but encouraged: a short story - when you make it, who you make it for, or why it’s special
Bonus points if you tell us which local purveyors you curate the ingredients from

Live Music Breakdown

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THANKS!

Thanks for reading the North Fork Buzz today. Like what you read? Send it to someone who loves going out to eat.

Tom Loncar- Publisher
Nicole Loncar- Editor + Partnerships