The Eastern Squeeze Juice & Sandwich Shoppe opens in Wading River 

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is a popular phrase about finding the bright side in a difficult situation. But when the universe seems to be doing nothing but hurling sour fruit, the cliché can seem a bit Pollyannaish.

Yet when it comes to Arleen and Denise Quimi, who recently opened The Eastern Squeeze Juice & Sandwich Shoppe at The Shoppes at East Wind (5768 NY-25A, Wading River, 631-886-1152), the citrusy saying doesn’t feel reductive or saccharine. The sisters are no strangers to life’s bitterness, but they mean it when they say their glass remains half full.

“We’re living proof we have to wipe those tears and keep going,” Arleen says, outfitted in a bright yellow dress and flats adorned with bejeweled renderings of various fruits.

Read the full story on the sisters’ bittersweet tribute to their sibling at northforker.com.