A Brewing Issue in Hampton Bays

Last year, Hampton Coffee Company took over a roadside cafe in a quiet corner of Hampton Bays. Over decades, the building, a former farm stand, had been expanded and transformed into a small eatery with bathrooms, a kitchen and walk-in refrigerators. The neighbors love having the cafe nearby. The problem is, all those expansions were done sans permits. So in an effort to bring everything up to date, Hampton Coffee Company’s owners Jason and Theresa Belkin filed a change of tenancy notice with Southampton Town Building Department to officially convert the certificate of occupancy from a farm stand to a take-out restaurant. Now the town is telling the Belkins they must go to the Planning Board for a proper assessment of what the building has become. This week, the editors discuss the conundrum the town faces as it considers legalizing a beloved business in a residential zone while also pondering what sort of precedents it might set down the road in other similar situations.