Billie’s Back Outdoor Deck – Called The Pavillion – Adds a New, Unique Dining Experience to the Iconic Pub
The new back deck at Billie’s 1890 Saloon on Main Street in Port Jefferson offers the long-time establishment expanded seating for outdoor dining and a way to make patrons think about the traditional pub as more than just a spot to hoist a few. They are calling it The Pavilion.
Chances are, if you’ve hung out in Port Jefferson Village for any amount of time over the years, you’ve wandered into Billie’s 1890 Saloon for a drink or two and possibly a bite to eat. (We highly recommend the Irish Egg Rolls.) The darkened pub has a traditional look with wooden features, belt driven ceiling fans, a giant back mirror, and the spinning wheel that periodically lands on a special drink offering. They’ve been around since the early 1980s, one of the few Port Jeff village spots that verges on iconic. It has outlasted quite a few of its contemporaries and yet, despite a fire and a change of ownership then a change back to its original ownership, Billie’s is keeping up with the times.
“We’re thrilled to introduce The Pavilion at Billie’s 1890 Saloon,” said Ed Fabian, who current owner and founder Billie Phillips calls his “right hand man” in everything at the bar/restaurant.
Fabian is referring to an expanded outdoor deck just opened this May at Billie’s. The Pavilion is a raised deck accessed by walking through the bar area and past the small indoor dining room in the back of the bar. You walk out to a wooden raised deck that seats about 50 guests, with a mix of cozy couch and table seating, complete with two large screen TVs, ambient lighting, and music to create a bright, breezy atmosphere not usually found inside at Billie’s.
“It took about two years from conception to opening,” explains Phillips about the process to get the outdoor dining area complete.
The idea came out of the emergency situation created by Covid. To survive during the pandemic, Billie’s 1890 Saloon was able to secure the ability to offer outdoor dining under a tent, which they had for two years.
“It didn’t really work well,” said Phillips inside his restaurant during an interview with LongIslandRestaurants.com.
The seating was too close to the traffic in the back of the restaurant, which faces the parking lot across from Rocketship Park (officially called Salt Meadow Parking Lot) but the idea stuck with them and they started making plans for The Pavilion. The new covered deck is raised up and offers a much better view. Patrons can catch a breeze and vibe of outdoor dining without being on ground level with traffic going by them and exposed to the sun.
Right now the outdoor dining is approved for seasonal use, so they will open it in spring and close by November 15th until 11pm daily.
Phillips, who launched the restaurant back in 1981 with his wife, sold it in the late 1980s. From then until the fire that destroyed the place in 2016 it was under different ownership. In the meantime, Phillips, who is actually a mortgage banker by trade, joined with his son (also named Billie) to open up Spycoast.
“After the fire, the landlord came over to Spycoast asking if I wanted the place,” said Phillips.
The rest is history and Billie Phillips was back. He also gave a run down on the history of his saloon. Before he opened Billie’s, Phillips had tended bar at a few spots in his younger days.
“My first bar gig when I was 25 was in a place called Chester’s 1890 Saloon,” said Phillips.
You can probably see where this is going.
“I stole all their ideas,” he said. “The ceiling, the stained glass, the dark bar.”
Phillips even went as far as to buy the original mirror and bar from Chester’s 1890 Saloon that the owner had stored in the basement of his bar. (Chester’s originally bought the bar and mirror from a New York City pub.) Most of that was lost in the fire and when Phillips took over he gave the place a refresh without altering the atmosphere. If you went to Billie’s 1890 Saloon over the years you might have noticed the place was getting a little long in the tooth before the blaze but after, even with the renovation, it still has the same feeling about it.
Fabian, who is also a very good friend of Phillip’s son, had a lot to do with the back deck getting opened.
“Honestly I couldn’t do this without Ed,” said Phillips.
Phillips said that the new outdoor dining helps expand Billie’s not just in physical space but in people’s minds as well.
“It extends the appeal and visibility of Billie’s to people who come down to the village to eat dinner,” he said. “Afterwards they can stop at the bar on their way out for a drink.”
After introducing The Pavilion, they also expanded some of their other offerings.
“We’ve also crafted a unique drink and food menu exclusively for The Pavilion,” Fabian said. “It’s ideal for relaxation, enjoying a meal, or hosting private events and parties.”
They were able to preserve a little of the original bar and mirror after the fire. The plan is to install a portion of it on the deck area to use as a waitress station to help weave together the old and the new.
According to Phillips, what makes The Pavilion at Billie’s 1890 Saloon special is that it offers an outdoor dining experience a little removed from the hustle and bustle further downport.
“There’s really nothing like it here in the village,” he said.
Visit Billie’s 1890 Saloon and The Pavilion at 304 Main Street in Port Jefferson, (631) 331-1890, billies1890.com.
