Modern Snack Bar in Aquebogue Set to Celebrate 75 Years

Some things never change, and for Modern Snack Bar, the beloved restaurant in Aquebogue, that’s a good thing.

Modern Snack Bar is set to celebrate 75 years in 2025, with its reopening officially set for May 14. Renowned for its vintage 1950s living room style interior and homestyle cooking, Modern Snack Bar still follows the traditional East End high season and offseason, opening in the spring and closing in December every year. According to Otto Wittmeier, co-owner and son of founders John and Wanda Wittmeier, this is largely due to the restaurant’s commitment to working with local farmers.

“We stayed open for an extra week [in 2024], because the weather was good,” Wittmeier said. “We open in the latter part of May, because basically, January, February, March, even April, nothing is going on out here. The vegetables aren’t growing. Nothing’s being produced. The wineries and beer breweries do okay, but in those months it’s light.”

Its timing of being open captures the ethos of the North Fork, being open in the spring, summer, and fall – perhaps the region’s biggest season due to pumpkin picking, apple picking, and other beloved autumn activities.

According to Wittmeier, John and Wanda were both from Europe, and the family settled in Riverhead shortly before opening Modern Snack Bar in 1950.

“My mother was a tremendous cook,” Wittmeier said. “So was my father. And they just developed a small restaurant with six stools and maybe some stools outside, and then we got to 125 seats. Let’s say back in the day, you’d come in with your wife, and you’d enjoy whatever you had. My mom would be talking to you, and she’d ask, ‘Would you like to come back, maybe next week, maybe bring another couple, and what would you like to eat?’ And the customer would say yes, and she would make whatever they want. They made it for you when you came in. So that’s how it started and evolved.”

As far as the name goes, that’s what it was called in the 1950s – and it simply stuck.

“Another guy had this place, and it was just a snack bar, so my parents took it over and kept the name Modern Snack Bar,” Wittmeier said. “Nobody ever bothered to change it, and there’s obviously nothing modern about the snack bar now. But it’s nostalgic and we never bothered to change it.”

Otto Wittmeier himself went into a more commercial side of the restaurant industry, working for Howard Johnson and the Marriott group for 25 years, before coming home to run Modern Snack  Bar with his brother, John.

“We have personal contact with our guests, most of them we know by name, if not by sight. And it’s great,” Wittmeier added. “Now we’re on the fourth generation of people that are coming here to eat. The first were the great grandparents, the grandparents, the parents, and now the children.”

In addition to the clientele, there is also a sense of loyalty and family among the staff, Wittmeier said, many of whom work at the restaurant every year, even with the nearly five month closure.

“We’re blessed with a super staff,” Wittmeier said. As far as the food and drinks go, Modern Snack Bar is committed to farm fresh American style cooking, with as many as 20 different pie selections, vegetables and meat collected from local farms on a weekly basis, as well as drinks from vineyards and breweries. There are a couple of beloved favorites on the menu – prime rib, roast turkey, soft shell crabs, chicken pot pie and more – but the favorite of them all is likely the mashed turnips. Wittmeier wouldn’t share the recipe.

“There’s butter and sugar, but there’s another ingredient I won’t mention,” Wittmeier said.

Despite its vintage vibe, Modern Snack Bar quickly adjusted and persevered through the COVID pandemic. They’ve also taken to updating their drink menu, despite not having an official bar.

It’s family first and community first at the North Fork institution – and Modern Snack Bar operates with a philosophy of don’t fix what isn’t broken.“I enjoy coming to work,” Wittmeier said. “With our staff and people coming back with stories from the 50s and 60s and 70s, which are really heartwarming to hear about our parents and about the family. We don’t venture off the path. We stick to what we do best.”

Modern Snack Bar will open for the season on May 14. It is located at 628 Main Road in Aquebogue. For more information, visit modernsnackbar.com.