The West End's New Openings Are Betting on February, Not July

"It's a 30 and up lounge, focusing on craft cocktails and martinis. A martini bar, I would say." That's Alexandra Howley talking to Newsday about Beacon. The new bar is upstairs at Jetty Bar & Grill, 832 W. Beech St., in a room that used to host private parties. The story ran on September 27. That puts Beacon's debut in the same weeks that the city's beach page lists Ocean Beach Park as closed for the season.

The timing tells you something about the West End right now. Over the past year, most of what has opened or reopened on West Beech Street has been small and built around regulars. That kind of place counts most when the summer crowd is gone. Look at the strip's 2025 and 2026 changes together and they mostly point at the cold months.

The Months That Decide a West Beech Street Business

Start with the baseline. Bob and Tracey Johnson have run The Cabana at 1034 W. Beech St. for 20 years, and they celebrated the anniversary with live music and a public party in July 2025. Bob Johnson told the Long Beach Herald that November through March is hard. Business drops about 50 percent because of the cold and the holidays. He tied the restaurant's long run to knowing the neighborhood's cycle and to community ties with groups like the Long Beach Polar Bears and Long Beach Catholic School. "Community support is everything," he said.

Neighbors have told the Herald the same thing before. In 2016, the owners of Speakeasy at 1032 W. Beech St. said the pub stayed busy in winter because locals kept coming. By then the bar had grown from one room into a two-room pub with a beer garden, brunch, and live entertainment.

So the West End has two seasons, and the slow one runs five months. A place built only for July has a long stretch to get through. A place built around people who live within a few blocks has a reason to stay open in February.

Beacon Is a Longtime Operator's Bet on a Different Crowd

Beacon isn't a newcomer testing the market. The Jetty building has a long history. Jetty opened on May 2, 2013, in the old Bahia Social Club space after Hurricane Sandy. John Rugolsky and Chris Fiumara were part of the ownership then. Patch's coverage of that reopening said the rebuilt Jetty put more focus on bands and nightlife. Thirteen years later, Rugolsky and Fiumara are still in the Jetty ownership group, now with John Gallagher and Darren Siff. Upstairs, they're making something calmer.

Howley joined from Felicia, another bistro built around its bar. She told Newsday the 30-plus crowd "isn't necessarily very well represented on the West End," and that Beacon is meant to feel more like an immersive experience.

Here's what you'll find upstairs:

• The entrance. It's tucked around the corner from the downstairs club, through a mural-lined hallway and up a flight of stairs. A light is supposed to shine when the bar is open.
• The cocktail list. There are 14 drinks, mostly on the sweet and easy side, plus a few stronger ones like the Light Lunch. That one is roasted-peanut-infused bourbon with blackberry, raspberry, and Angostura, for $17.
• The "Dirty's." This is a build-your-own martini section. You pick vodka, gin, or an olive-oil fat-washed vodka. Then you choose olive brine, pepperoncini brine, or half and half, and one of four levels that run from clean to filthy. There are four olives to choose from, three of them stuffed with cheese, plus add-ons like chili oil, cracked pepper, a lemon expression, or a pickled pepper. Newsday's critic ordered the filthy pepperoncini version with chili oil and a goat cheese olive, for $18.
• The kitchen. The menu is short, a mix of bistro classics and bar food. It includes diver scallops with fondant potatoes for $39 and "tartar dippers," avocado and yellowtail tartare with crispy rice logs, for $23.

The hours fit a regular's week better than a beach weekend. The kitchen runs 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and the bar stays open until around 11. On Fridays and Saturdays the kitchen goes until 10 and the bar until 2 a.m. The phone is 516-442-1338.

What Else Has Changed on the Strip

Beacon is the newest addition, but other changes since 2025 lean the same way. Several are counter-service spots and neighborhood hangouts rather than big summer venues.

Two of those dates stand out because they fall in winter. Lil' Al's arrived in December 2025. It's a burger window from Alexis Trolf, the chef behind nearby Lost & Found and Lost at Sea. When Newsday reported the opening, the window ran Thursdays through Sundays from 5 p.m. until it sold out. Opening a burger window in December on a beach town's main drag only works if the year-round crowd shows up.

Long Beach Sandwich Company spent the coldest part of the year rebuilding. A kitchen fire on Dec. 21 kept it closed for about two and a half months. Owner Dan Monteforte told Greater Long Island the kitchen was rebuilt and the space got some small upgrades before it reopened in March 2026.

Buddies Frozen Yogurt shows the same idea at its friendliest. Michael Waldman spent years as a mechanic seeing customers on their worst days. He and partner Judah Spector opened Buddies in July with nine flavors and a topping bar that includes cinnamon buns, brownie bites, and pieces of cheesecake. Waldman said he chose the name because he wanted a place "where people can meet their friends and hang out. Not just pick something up and leave." Frozen yogurt in January is its own test. The shop is betting on people stopping by again and again, not on one busy summer.

The Season's First Big West End Day Is This Saturday

The off-season on West Beech Street starts with a crowd. The Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 17 holds the 37th Annual Irish Heritage Parade and Festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The parade steps off at 11 a.m. from Washington Boulevard and West Park Avenue and heads to Beech Street in the West End.

The city lists this year's Grand Marshal as Hooks for Hero's. The aides to the Grand Marshal are William Peyton, Jake Marlin, John Deely, and Maureen Walsh, and the festival includes music, street vendors, and food trucks. Organizations that want to march can contact the AOH through the details on the city's Irish Day page.

Parade day is a busy West End day, and after it the calendar goes quiet on this stretch. Between that Saturday and the cold weather, these are worth a visit on an ordinary weeknight:

1. Beacon, upstairs at 832 W. Beech St., Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m.
2. Lil' Al's at 874-B W. Beech St. Check its current schedule, since Newsday's December 2025 listing had it open Thursday through Sunday until sellout.
3. Buddies Frozen Yogurt at 1048 W. Beech St. Its published Saturday hours look like a typo, so confirm before you go.
4. Long Beach Sandwich Company at 801 W. Beech St., with its rebuilt kitchen.

The Cabana's half-strength winter is the problem every business on this strip has to plan around. These openings are what the West End is offering for those months: a martini bar upstairs at a place that has been open since 2013, a December burger window, a sandwich shop rebuilt in winter, and a frozen yogurt shop named for the friends you meet there.

Want help finding a home near the West Beech Street spots you'd actually walk to? Lucky To Live Here follows openings like these block by block, and we're always glad to share our current West End favorites. Contact Us, and we'll start with what's new on Beech Street.