66 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2020
BRIGHT EYE BEER CO.
LB'S FIRST BREWERY
PDQ CHICKEN INVESTS IN LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY
This past summer, award-winning PDQ restaurant
(www.eatPDQ.com) opened its first restaurant in
the greater New York tri-state region. The chicken
centric chain, which stands for People Dedicated to
Quality and was launched in 2011 by Bob Basham
(a founder of Outback Steakhouse) and Nick
Reader (a former Tampa Bay Buccaneers CFO),
now has nearly 60 locations in five states. The
Farmingdale, Broadhollow Road unit is owned and
operated by prominent New York restaurateur
Dean Poll together with local successful
businessman Thomas J. Fanning, Sr. Coming off
several major fine dining restaurant successes, Poll
and Fanning, Sr. were so impressed by the PDQ
menu and its operating philosophy they decided to
make their first-ever venture into the fast casual
segment.
Poll and Fanning, Sr. believe that PDQ’s variety of
chicken with hand-breaded fresh chicken tenders,
hand-crafted sandwiches, made-to-order salads
and more represents the future of fast food---and
the Long Island marketplace is underserved.
Two key issues which set PDQ's chicken apart from
its competitors:
- All chicken is FRESH, never frozen like most
competitors use.
"Blue Bloods" CBS-TV Network Show stars
Robert Clohessy (second from right) and Abigail
Hawk join a recent "Proud of Our Police"
community celebration at PDQ Farmingdale
with PDQ's team, (left to right) Ryan Basham,
Thomas J. Fanning, Sr., and Mike Francisco.
- PDQ proactively engages the greater Farmingdale/Route 110 community by its
enthusiastic support of special events for schools, non-profit groups, and
neighborhood organizations.
Explains PDQ Farmingdale’s Operating Director MT Francisco: “We pride
ourselves on giving back to the community because
residents connected to Farmingdale, Amityville,
Massapequa, Old Bethpage, and Melville have
been loyal guests responsible for our success.”
Examples of special event fundraisers where PDQ
has contributed food product include:
- The Amityville School District, Class of 2020
- The Farmingdale School District faculty
- The SUNY-Farmingdale staff and faculty
- The “Long Island Fight For Charity”
- The Amityville Breast Cancer Walk
- The Life's WORC/Family Center For Autism Chef's
Tasting
The most recent “case study” is how the Boys &
Girls Clubs of Long Island (Hicksville, East Norwich,
Glen Cove) are now receiving several hundred
dollars as part of a national PDQ CHICKEN
fundraising campaign, which is providing nearly
$70,000 to local Boys & Girls Clubs across the
country.
“PDQ likes to partner with local groups and
non-profits where we can donate our products and tailor a program to help them
fundraise,” said Francisco. "Beyond giving our guests a wonderful experience
through our fresh food, we want them to know that their support and loyalty of
PDQ is consistently given back through a variety of community organization
enhancements from our 'People Dedicated to Quality’.
BY BERNIE KILKELLY
Bright Eye Beer Company is planning
to open the first craft brewery in the
City of Long Beach on Feb. 21.
Co-owner Luke Heneghan, who
grew up in nearby Point Lookout,
built the brewery in a 5,000-squarefoot
space that was originally a fiveand
dime store and spent $800,000
on renovations.
“We’re excited to be opening in the
heart of Long Beach and hope that
our taproom will become a place
for community gatherings and
local artists to display their work,"
he says.
He and his partners, Molly Allare
and his sister, Keira Heneghan,
spent a year installing a 15-barrel
brewhouse and a 40-foot bar in the
building built in 1939.
“We were committed to recycling the
wood from this historic building,” he
says. “We took over 150 feet of oldgrowth
pine from floor joists. We
removed and used them to make the
top of the taproom bar."
The taproom also features recycled
steel beams from the old Point Lookout
Pavilion that was taken down in
2018. The brewery’s name, Bright
Eye, was the name of a fish packing
company, Bright Eye Fish Company,
in Point Lookout in the 1930s and ’40s.
“A fish with bright eyes meant that it
was freshly caught,” says Heneghan.
"We are proud to be carrying on the
name with our freshly made local
beers.”
He honed his skills while working
at his family’s Point Lookout restaurant,
J.A. Heneghan’s Tavern. To
launch the new brewery, he enlisted
head brewer Brendan Maxim of Port
Jefferson, who brewed for Laguna
Beach Beer Company in California
and Crazy Mountain Brewing in
Colorado. Among the beers Bright
Eyes will have on its 16 taps are a
West Coast IPA, a New England-style
hazy IPA, and a creamsicle ale served
on a nitro tap.
Bright Eyes is licensed as both a microbrewery
and as a farm brewery,
and Heneghan expects to use local
ingredients, including hops from
Route 27 Hop Yard in Moriches.
Bright Eye plans to sell crowlers
and self-distribute kegs to local
bars and restaurants, including J.A.
Heneghan’s.
“I hope they will set aside at least one
tap for us in Point Lookout,” he jokes.
Bright Eye Beer Company is
located at 50 W. Park Ave. in
Long Beach. For more info visit
brighteyebeerco.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher
of LIBeerGuide.com.
MAIN DISH
The Bright Eye team L. to R.:
Keira Heneghan, Luke Heneghan,
Molly Allare, Brendan Maxim, Kaci
Heneghan.
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