Jaymee Sire

Eat Social Share Nestled on Front Street, owners Cheo Avila and Ai Ito's Stereo East End has been a hot ticket since it opened this past summer. (Photo credit: Doug Young) THE GIST When chefs Cheo Avila and Ai Ito first crossed paths in Greenport in 2024, they were navigating their own culinary paths: Avila bootstrapping his empanada pop-ups and Ito building a modern Japanese catering business in Brooklyn.

While Tuesdays are generally a little quieter for most businesses around the North Fork, it’s the busiest day of the week for Carissa Hope, the baker behind NoFo SoDough. Her day starts at 5 a.m., making her husband a maple latte for work before churning out a minimum of 12 sourdough loaves, 45 chocolate chunk cookies, and three dozen of her decadent chocolate chocolate cupcakes. “I’ve done vanilla,” Hope explains of her signature combo. “But there’s something about the chocolate chocolate.

Driving down Peconic Bay Boulevard in Jamesport, you might miss it if you aren’t specifically looking for it. On a quiet plot of land in a residential neighborhood sits Golden Acres Organic Farm, marked by a roadside sign and a large flag billowing in the wind that says “OPEN.” As we make our way down the tree-lined drive leading to the old barn, the farm is very much in early-season mode; they opened for the summer just a day prior on June 1.