Star’s owner Anthony Meras to lead Jamesport St. Pats parade

Star Confectionary owner and local legend Anthony Meras has been chosen to be the Grand Marshal of this spring’s annual Jamesport St. Patrick’s Day parade, and he couldn’t be more thrilled. 

“Kevin [Carrick] and John [Cuddy] from the Emerald Society came into the restaurant and told me, and I was shocked,” he said in an interview this week. “I was shocked and overwhelmed. It’s such a complete honor to be chosen for it.”

Still, the garrulous cook wondered with a laugh if the East End Emerald Society made the right choice.

“First of all, they’re going to give me a microphone the night of the [parade] fundraiser. I said, ‘That’s a mistake.’ I wanted to be Johnny Carson growing up. Everybody wants to be a baseball player but I thought Johnny Carson was the best.”

He also light-heartedly warned his friend [and Riverhead Town Councilwoman] Joann Waski about the decision.

“I said to Joann, ‘Listen, this could be the longest parade ever, because I’m going to be hugging and kissing and shaking everybody’s hands and yapping and talking.’ She said, ‘no, no — that’s exactly why we asked you to be the Grand Marshal. I’m going to pull you along!”

The honorary appointment was a nice touch following a bit of a tough year for Mr. Meras and his family. 

Last fall, Star Confectionary — which Mr. Meras’ family has operated for more than 140 years — was robbed for the first time in its storied history and $10,000 was stolen from a safe inside the restaurant. 

“It was [$3,000 in] sales tax money that you pay each quarter,” he said from behind the counter at Star’s the morning after the robbery. “And then there was [$7,000] that was going to the bank for deposit for the week to pay the bills.”

Mr. Meras also lost a prized stack of $2 bills, which he collects — a habit the diner owner picked up from his mother.

But even the robbery had a silver lining.

When word got out about the break-in, Michelle Papa, a veteran waitress at the Main St. diner, launched a GoFundMe page for the Meras family, and the following morning — after more than 130 individual donations, the restaurant proprietor had to call her to stop seeking contributions.

“One of the girls that works for us, she’s been here since she was 14. She’s 40 now. And she set up the GoFundMe, and within 12 hours, it reached the goal of the money that was stolen from the safe,” Mr. Meras said. By the time they turned off the fundraising, $10,850 had been raised.

He said that one customer’s $5 donation brought him to tears.

“It was a blessing and a curse: a curse that we had it stolen, but a blessing — that outpouring of love from the whole community.”

For someone who doesn’t even live in Jamesport and isn’t of Irish heritage (he’s Greek), Mr. Meras feels blessed.

“My best friends are from Jamesport, so I spend most of my time there. I absolutely love Jamesport!”