🌱 Riverhead Daily: Luchacubano Opens + Missing Riverhead Teen

Happy Friday, people of Riverhead! Diane Witek here to get you all caught up to start today off on an informed note.

First, today's weather:

Windy; a shower in the a.m. High: 53, low: 18.

Here are the top stories today in Riverhead:

1. A new day is dawning in downtown Riverhead as the owner of the popular Lucharitos taquerias opens the doors to Luchacubano, a sandwicheria and rum bar on East Main Street Friday. Luchacubano, located at 87 East Main Street — at the site of Sunny's Riverhead Diner & Grill, which opened in 1932 and closed due to the pandemic — will serve up roast pork and plantains, coffee and mojitos, and be infused with "Miami vibes," owner Marc LaMaina said. (Riverhead Patch)
2. Riverhead Town has selected RXR/Georgica Green Ventures as master developer for the transit-oriented redevelopment in downtown Riverhead. The plan includes a town-owned, two-acre municipal parking lot located between the State Supreme Court building on Court Street and the railroad station. Its plan also includes a four- and five-story, mixed-use building providing 243 apartments. (RiverheadLOCAL)
3. Riverhead's Ukrainian American community is praying for peace in Ukraine. "The tensions in Ukraine are palpable in the local Ukrainian American community, whose members gather to pray for peace at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Riverhead," wrote RiverheadLOCAL. (RiverheadLOCAL)
4. Police are searching for a teen who went missing from the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch in Riverhead last month. According to Riverhead Town Police, Aaron Beatty, 17, is white, 5-feet, 9-inches tall and 140 lbs., with brown eyes and straight brown hair. He left the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, located on Middle Road in Riverhead, on Jan. 10 at 12:05 a.m. without permission, police said. He is possibly in the Mastic area and no foul play is suspected, police said. (Riverhead Patch)
5. East End Food Institute's indoor Farmers Market offering on Saturday, Feb. 19 includes Mattituck Mushrooms, Nuna Knits, 1760 Homestead Farm, Landcraft Garden Foundation, Greens by Gabrielsen, wine tastings from Osprey’s Dominion, Raphael Wine, RGNY Wine and much more. For a complete list of vendors, click here. (Northforker)

Today's Riverhead Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Riverhead!

From my notebook:

• Riverhead Books: "🤩BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT!🤩 Two young girls are best friends growing up – but as adults, their lives take wildly divergent paths. What happens when loyalty to each other comes violently clashing against the values of the different worlds they live in." (Instagram)
• Suffolk County Sheriff's Office: "Sheriff Toulon and the men and women of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office extend their deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of FDNY Firefighter and Islip Fire Department member Jesse Gerhard." (Facebook) (Website)
• RiverheadLOCAL: "The Suffolk County Historical Society has issued an apology for featuring an image depicting an advertisement for a 1926 'Monster Klan' gathering of the Ku Klux Klan in Riverhead in August 1926.⁠" (Instagram)
• Suffolk County Sheriff's Office: "Relationships shouldn’t hurt. Throughout the United States 1 in 10 high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend. #TeenDatingViolenceAwarenessMonth." (Facebook) (Website)
• Riverhead News Review: "The ‘Unsung Heroes Who Shaped America’ exhibit at Riverhead Free Library features artifacts on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and more." (Instagram)
• The Suffolk Theater: "Just announced! Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone is coming to Suffolk Theater on April 3! Tickets are going to go fast, so get them while you can. Selling over 52 million recordings with 14 singles." (Instagram) (Website)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• The Laramie Project. The North Fork Community Theatre, 12700 Sound Ave., Mattituck. (Feb. 25)
• Online — NCNW LONG ISLAND CROSS COUNTY SECTION Meeting. Hempstead, N.Y. (Feb. 26
• Learn How To Reduce Your Risk For Heart Disease During American Heart Month. (Feb. 28)
• Get A ‘Taste Of Paradise’ During This Exclusive Event At Atlantis. (Feb. 28)
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Announcements:

• Behind The Scoreboard — More Than A Cyclist, A Hero! (Details)
• Stressed out caring for a loved one with memory issues? (Details)
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For sale:

• 1967 Sunbeam Alpine. (Details)
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Gigs & services:

• REIKI for Anxiety. "It's like a magic calming elixir." (Details)
• Services available in your Home or Wellness Retreats. (Details)
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Job listings:

• Irrigation Positions. (Details)
• Butchers, Store Mgrs., Cooks, Counter help. (Details)
• Receptionist/Office Assistant. (Details)
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Other classifieds:

• Overhead Projector. (Details)
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Loving the Riverhead Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

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• Send me a news tip or suggestion at diane.witek@patch.com.

You're all caught up for today. I'll catch up with you bright and early tomorrow morning with another update!

— Diane Witek

About me: Impassioned Writer, Website Designer, Social Media Marketer and newly proclaimed Baker. Lover of nature and animals of all kinds.