Stereo East End opening in Greenport
Chefs Cheo Avila and Ai Ito have teamed up to open Stereo East End in Greenport mid-June. Credit: Doug Young
Chef Cheo Avila and Chef Ai Ito are about to turn up the volume on the North Fork dining scene with their Japanese and Venezuelan contemporary eatery, Stereo East End, coming to Greenport.
The restaurant will be opening mid-June on Front Street. The fare served will combine the chefs’ different cultures. Avila is from Venezuela and Ito is Japanese. The pair hosted the Maizeat pop-up restaurant at Southold’s The Shoals last summer. The empanada-forward pop up started at Jamesport’s Lumber + Salt and Little Creek Oysters in Greenport in 2024
"We were thinking of duality because we’re two chefs," Avila said. "We’re two people doing this thing [together] and that makes things better."
To come up with the menu, the chefs traveled to Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Japan. Avila worked at Greenport’s KonTiki, which closed in 2022.
"This is our first restaurant, and this is a big step for us," Avila said. "After 14 years working in the industry, running places, opening places, doing things for other people, I’ve been chasing this for a while."
Ito said they are working hard to source local ingredients. While the menu will not include sushi, guests will find dishes that will highlight some of the best flavors of Latin America and Asia.
"We’re going to do arepas, but also some other traditional dishes from Venezuela done with a Japanese twist and vice versa," Avila said. "We will do certain Japanese things with Venezuelan touches and flavors."
As an example, for lunch, Avila said they will have Venezuelan griddle cakes, or arepas, where they will mix seaweed in the flour to add a Japanese twist. Stereo East End will also have Japanese sake on draft, wine from Macari Vineyard and an offering of cocktails, Avila said.
Stereo East End, 110 Front St., unit 3, Greenport.
Melissa Azofeifa is a restaurants reporter with Newsday's FeedMe team. Having grown up on Long Island, she loves talking about food and its impact on culture. A graduate of Stony Brook University, she joined Newsday in the fall of 2024.
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