Lindenhurst Pub Owner Feels 'Attacked' By 'Petty' Complaints

LINDENHURST, NY — The owner of a Lindenhurst bar and restaurant says he’s standing up to “attacks” from local businesses — and is asking the community for help.

Dave Crowe, owner of Belfast Gastropub, located at 101 N Wellwood Ave, is hosting a meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, to gather support against multiple accusations filed against his business.

According to a Village of Lindenhurst representative, Crowe is scheduled to speak at Wednesday night's Zoning Board of Appeals meeting to renew the use of Belfast Gastropub.

In a conversation with Patch, Crowe claimed that multiple Lindenhurst restaurants have filed an overwhelming amount of “petty” and anonymous complaints about his business within the past 14 months.

A representative told Patch that the Village of Lindenhurst is unaware of any official opposition to the application.

“This is the first time I've ever had to deal with anything like this ever,” said Crowe, who has been in the restaurant business for more than 40 years. “It's just absolutely borderline criminal, the way our business has been attacked here, and the way they’ve spoken about us.”

Crowe said that complaints began before he opened the pub in March 2021.

“There was an official complaint made from another business that we were getting preferential treatment, before I even opened the door of my business,” he said. "(The complaint claimed) that we were building heaters, which we weren't at the time. We were building pillars to protect the side of our building.”

Since then, Belfast Gastropub has received a complaint every three or four weeks, Crowe said, made to the State Liquor Authority, Suffolk County Department of Health Services, the Suffolk County Fire Marshal's office, and the Village of Lindenhurst.

Not one establishment has spoken to Crowe about the complaints in person, he said.

“It's just disgraceful,” he said. “I just can't understand this, that no one can pick up the phone and go ‘Listen, Dave, can we jump in with you? You're doing a block party? We'd love to join you’.”

Since the pub opened, Crowe said he’s strived to contribute to the community. “Every ad, everything we do is about the Village and our business and other businesses in the village. We were very instrumental in the first St. Patrick's parade in the Village. We've had marches for Ukraine and massive fundraisers for the children of Ukraine.”

In addition to the meeting, the pub is hosting a “Ukrainian Refugee Fundraiser” from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Village of Lindenhurst officials on Saturday also announced at Belfast Gastropub that there will be a second St. Patrick's Day parade, to take place on March 25, 2023.

While Crowe doesn’t fully understand the main reason for the complaints, he said a patron told him that other restaurants formed a “coalition” during the pandemic. This group, he said, has “come together in an effort to destroy” his business.

“Maybe they thought because I'm a new guy in town, they were going to try and take me down,” he said.

If this is true, Crowe said, he hopes that others will find more compassion in their hearts. When the pandemic hit, he contracted COVID-19 and became very ill, he said.

“In the middle of COVID, I was trying to save my business and provide for my family and save my livelihood,” he said. “But these people here have constantly complained and tried to put me out of business.”

Crowe also stated that while he’s been shocked at the behavior of other businesses, the Village of Lindenhurst has only been kind and supportive.

“The village are fantastic,” he said. “From the day I met them, they said, ‘We'll try and help you the best we can. Because we want to be successful in the Village.’”

But for now, Crowe said he’ll keep fighting to serve the residents of Lindenhurst.

“From the bottom of my heart, I'm so disappointed,” he said. “I’ve been very good to people my whole life, and to be treated like this is just unacceptable.”

Lindenhurst Pub Owner Feels 'Attacked' By 'Petty' Complaints originally appeared on the Lindenhurst Patch