ASTORIA — The owners of a new snack bar that opened at Astoria Park Pool in June want to operate year-round.
“At this point there is no other concession stand in the park,” said Lisa Rois, one of the owners of Surf Shack Cafe. “And we are limited to serving pool-goers only.”
Rois also said she and her business partner Nedy Perez would like to turn the snack bar into a bistro-style venue.
The pair has approached the Parks Department about building another entrance to the bar from the park’s side, but has not yet filed the necessary building proposal. Currently, the snack bar is accessible only from the pool.
The bar serves typical snacks like burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, mozzarella cheese sticks, and chicken salad, as well as ice cream and chips. The owners say they use healthy oils to fry their products and serve food wrapped in paper instead of plastic.
Rois noted that her Hempstead-based company — Temp’s Unlimited LLC — invested about $20,000 in renovations.
“The place was really run down and required a lot of work,” she said, adding that they got the permit to operate the venue for nine seasons.
In the future, the company wants to operate more concession stands around the city, Rois said.
Rois’s father owned a concession stand at one of the Brooklyn courts and she said she wanted to continue this family tradition.
The Parks Department’s press office said they were not aware of the proposal.
