News

Polish Hall gets its groove back with new ‘Ziggy’s Place’ lounge

This is not your parents’ Polish Hall.

Last Saturday, members of Riverhead’s Polish-American community, musicians and local leaders gathered downstairs at Polish Hall for the official opening of “Ziggy’s Place,” a new lounge and live music and performance venue.

The renovated downstairs room is part of a larger, top-to-bottom overhaul of historic Polish Hall’s programming in the wake of the pandemic — which drained the space of many of its loyal and mostly older residents, some of whom stayed home during COVID and never came back.

The new, low-lit lounge — open seven days a week, with live music Saturday nights — is named for local legend Ziggy Wilinski, who passed away in 2021 after serving for nearly two decades as Polish Hall president.

Last week, the banquet hall, built in the 1920s, was buzzing with activity.

“Upstairs, I had country music [and line dancing],” said marketing pro Diane Tucci, one of several driving forces behind the hall’s makeover. “I came downstairs and I’ve got the ladies bowling league playing music on the jukebox, and then I go into the lounge, and it’s like you’re in a speakeasy. It’s so freaking cool.”

The room, painted midnight blue, is separated from the barroom and bowling alley with dark blue curtains, “so it’s a whole chill vibe in there,” she said.

NoFo Band performed at the end of the event Saturday night, following performances by Warren McKnight and Lisa Dabrowski, host of “Polka Time” on WRIV 1390.

The new venue really meets a need in downtown Riverhead, Ms. Tucci said.

“When I think about the kids in the high school and we’ve got performing artists all over the place, and where can they go? … We’ve got some really talented musicians right here in Riverhead, and Ziggy’s will be a place where they can come and jam,” Ms. Tucci said. She also encouraged young artists who are just starting out to join upcoming open mic nights to test out new material and hone their stage skills in a pressure- free environment.

She said that Keri Najdzion and her husband, Polish Hall president Tom Najdzion, as well as Riverhead Polish Independent Club board of directors members John Chwalek and Mark Busczynski, were vital to the project.

Mr. Najdzion said Saturday night that what was formally known as the hall’s “garden room” has been completely transformed.

“It was basically a room rental for small parties,” he said. “I would hold Boy Scout meetings here, or a brunch or a breakfast, or a meeting or a class.”

For Polish Hall, the pandemic was a “rough couple of years, bouncing back from that, because people just didn’t want to come out anymore,” Mr. Najdzion said. “They didn’t want to rent the hall.”

He said Ms. Tucci came up with the idea of creating a “pub atmosphere” downstairs, for bands, open mic nights, stand-up comedy and other live performances.

Central to the lounge are a newly constructed stage and a sound system. Dave Lotito of Wading River, owner of One for the Road Event Services, “was one of the first people who jumped in,” said Ms. Tucci. “He helped build a stage. He put his own money into it. He didn’t charge us,” she said, adding, “I told him, one day we’re going to get him paid back for his materials and time.”

Ms. Tucci, who used to run the “Alive on 25” events downtown, said that volunteers friends and family from all over Riverhead and beyond came out and pitched in to help, everyone sharing the feeling of a sense of ownership of the new space.

“This is our place. And it’s the same thing with downtown … downtown belongs to us. It doesn’t belong to the businesses. It doesn’t belong to the government. It’s our place. So when people feel like they’ve got ownership and it’s theirs — like anything else, you do a little more, because you want to have a place to call your own.”

Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio and the entire Riverhead Town Board also turned out to celebrate the opening.

“Ziggy would be so proud, and it’s just such a tribute,” said town Councilwoman Denise Merrifield. “The board of directors did such a beautiful job with this room and in making [the hall] a desirable place for people to come and just kick their feet up and have a beer and relax and enjoy.”

She said the Town Board, led by her colleague Joane Waski, is trying to get a state historical designation for the section of town along Pulaski Street, commonly known as “Polish Town, USA.”

Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard called the renovated lounge “unbelievable — it’s like a secret hideaway.” He added, “So I hope they’ll do very well. I’m sure they will, and I’ll be down here myself.”

Mr. Najdzion, along with Polish Town Civic Association president Kevin Davis, was recently named as the Riverhead News-Review’s People of the Year for 2024.

Mr. Najdzion said on Saturday night that what was formally known as the hall’s “garden room” has been completely transformed.

“It was basically a room rental for small parties,” he said. “I would hold Boy Scout meetings here, or a brunch or a breakfast, or a meeting or a class.”

For the Polish Hall, the pandemic was a “rough couple of years, bouncing back from that, because people just didn’t want to come out anymore,” he said. “They didn’t want to rent the hall.”