Complaints Continue at Former Kemistry Restaurant Location

The name of the business occupying 70 Old Country Road in Mineola may have changed, but for some residents, the complaints remain.

“We are still facing the same issues,” Geranium Avenue resident Maria Carbone said during the June 5 meeting of the Mineola Village Board at the village hall. “Events, really loud, the rear door open, rowdy patrons.”

Carbone also complained about the valet parking practices as attendants allegedly were racing cars down the alley behind the restaurant and noise and smell emanating from a roof vent.

“To listen to this for 10 to 12 hours a day every single day is driving me nuts,” she said.

The business was formally operated as a discotheque under the name Kemistry. Residents had complained about the same behavior and problems in 2010 and a new ownership team had taken over in 2011. Under the Kemistry banner, residents in the area had complained of the rowdy behavior of patrons who reportedly were urinating on walls and trying to force their way into neighbors homes. A fight reportedly involving 50 people also took place at the location in 2012 with police being called to the scene.

The location recently underwent new renovations and reopened on April 1 as Eric’s Italian Bistro by one of the former owners of Andiamo on Mineola Boulevard, which had also closed down.

Mayor Scott Strauss stated that the building department did visit the business to ensure the operators were aware of the stipulations in the agreement on the property from the previous owners, including the noise from a rooftop vent and other restrictions.

“We are looking into it, seeing if they can address the roof vent noise,” Strauss said. “It’s probably as high as it can possibly get; whether it’s maintained or not, if it’s functioning and it need to be maintained, we’ll see what we can work out with the owner of the building.”

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