May 24, 2026 · Updated May 24, 2026
Restaurateur Max Feinberg opened Side Street Dive at 11 Railroad Avenue in Patchogue this spring, converting the former Burgerology space into a pizza and cocktail bar in the heart of downtown. The opening adds another dinner option to a stretch of Patchogue Village that has drawn half a dozen new restaurants in the past two years.
Side Street Dive opened at 11 Railroad Avenue in Patchogue this spring, converting the former Burgerology space into a pizza and cocktail bar that restaurateur Max Feinberg designed to keep the block active after dark.
Feinberg took over the Railroad Avenue storefront and built it around wood-fired pies and a full cocktail program. The address sits at the center of downtown Patchogue Village, steps from the LIRR station and the string of bars and restaurants that have made Patchogue one of the more active Main Street dining corridors on the South Shore.
The former Burgerology space sat vacant for months before Feinberg signed the lease. He said he was drawn to Railroad Avenue for its foot traffic from the train station and the density of younger residents who have moved into the village in recent years, drawn by rents lower than Brooklyn or the North Fork.
Side Street Dive adds to a downtown block that has filled in quickly since Patchogue began investing in streetscape and parking upgrades. Several other operators have signed leases in the corridor recently: Vespa Italian Kitchen is opening at New Village in Patchogue after the Fourth of July, and Legacy Room, run by Chef Mike Artist, formerly of Road Trip in Bay Shore, is operating just off South Ocean Avenue.
Brookhaven Town Supervisor Dan Panico has pointed to the Patchogue corridor as a model for transit-oriented commercial development in a suburban municipality. The pattern Feinberg fits is consistent: an independent owner-operator, not a chain, betting on an LIRR-adjacent downtown where foot traffic is reliable year-round rather than seasonal.
Patchogue has become a testing ground for restaurant operators who might otherwise have looked at Brooklyn or the Hamptons. Several spots that opened on Railroad Avenue and Main Street over the past four years expanded hours or launched second locations within 18 months. The village's mix of accessibility, walkability, and a growing residential base has produced an unusually loyal dining public for a South Shore suburb.
Side Street Dive has about 60 seats inside. Feinberg described the concept as a neighborhood spot that takes its pizza seriously. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday for dinner, with weekend lunch service added recently. Reservations are accepted on the restaurant's website. The address at 11 Railroad Ave. is a three-minute walk east of the Patchogue LIRR station on the Montauk branch.
