Main Street recently got a new member to its line of restaurants. Sweet Jane opened “quietly” to not overwhelm their staff, on Thursday, July 19, as an upscale New York City-style cocktail bar serving classic mixes and what they call their own riffs. Sweet Jane is located at 64 E. Main St., which was previously a thrift shop.
The restaurant opened with help from the Tartaglia brothers who already own a handful of restaurants on Main Street. Sweet Jane is the brainchild of six individuals: Andy and Anthony Tartaglia, James Howell, John Dell’Orto (Dell), Joe Sileo, Tim Foley, and Joe Mele, four of whom met while waiting tables on Fire Island.
“Both the Tartaglia brothers, James Howell, Joseph Sileo, and myself, we all had our first restaurant jobs on Fire Island. Whether it was washing dishes or bussing or bar backing. That’s how we all met up with each other. Joe worked at the Island Mermaid for a long time. Andy Tartaglia was at the Mermaid for a while. James Howell was at Michael’s Ristorante and I worked at Castaway for about 15 years,” said Dell’Orto.
The menu offered at Sweet Jane heavily emphasizes a variety of cocktails accompanied by small plates, such as charcuterie and a raw bar. “The cocktail menu range has classics and riffs … we have some tiki-inspired cocktails, which is sort of a tip of the hat to Coastal Kitchen and Daiquiri bar where we all worked. We try to incorporate a lot of fresh juices and a lot of local produce.”
The food menu had influence from Chef Tim Foley who worked at Almond out in the Hamptons and restaurants in the city. The menu has a French influence, with items such as paté and escargot.
The name Sweet Jane was taken from the classic rock song by Lou Reed. “There was no true inspiration for the name,” explained Dell’Orto. “We kind of just pulled a few songs together and asked what everyone was listening to at that moment. It’s kind of funny because that whole scene, the glam rock era of the pre-punk scene in New York, is in all of us. We love all music but are not necessarily just a rock and roll bar.”
Most of the cocktails are named after songs the crew was listening to while creating the menu, such as Blank Space,” “Ring of Fire,” and “The Brightside.”
“We are all a bunch of music heads,” John laughed. “We wanted to open a restaurant like the ones we like to hang out at. I kind of hate that I made the bar I want to hang out at because now it’s my job.”
