Dave Boller and Bob Russo, owners of Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen, outside their restaurant.

Photo Courtesy of Herald Community Newspapers

With just over a year of business in the books, owners of Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen Dave Boller and Bob Russo have been able to turn their dreams of owning a successful restaurant on Long Island into a reality. 

The history between Boller and Russo dates back to 1991 when the two were tied by brotherhood after pledging to SUNY Oneonta’s Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. “It’s a brotherhood that’s transcended time and that’s how we kept in touch over the past 25 years and then got together on this project for Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen here in East Meadow,” Boller said.

Though Boller carries 25 years of online advertising experience with him, having worked for companies such as excite.com and MTV, he reveals that his goal was “always to be a part of the service industry and open a beer garden and kitchen somewhere on Long Island.”

He continued, “That’s always been a passion – always been a dream and I’ve been able to leverage the background in advertising to help us build our brand.”

This brand was inspired by the lives of the business partners. “I enjoy going out, but I’d never really found a place locally that I gravitated toward. So, we’ve taken our college and city experience, and brought what we thought is something perfect for our area,” Russo said. 

Boller describes that “something” as “Brooklyn meets East Meadow fusion with amazing beers from all across Long Island.”

“It’s something totally unique. It’s like a little oasis in the back of a parking lot. People walk in and they literally forget where they are,” Russo added.

However, even if the customers fail to remember where they are, they surely know to come back. 

“We’ve serviced close to 75,000 customers over the past year and have close to 10,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook, so we’ve really struck a chord here locally in East Meadow and the surrounding communities,” Boller said. 

The dynamic duo has found various ways to cater to these locals by offering a multitude of promotions.

“We have live music on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We have all sorts of specials: ladies’ night on Thursdays; we have half-priced wine on Wednesdays; Monday night football specials; football specials on Sunday, a DJ on Friday night. So, we try and create something going on every single day,” Russo said. In addition to hosting a happy hour every day from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., Boller explained the business is partnered with the CSEA (Civil Service Employees Association) to provide members with the opportunity to “come in and get some food discounts.” 

This food is prepared by head chef Kevin Liebov, who has incorporated various cuisines such as Asian, American and Italian influence to the menu of nearly 50 dishes.

The presentation of the meals is aesthetically pleasing and offers a gourmet experience for customers. 

“He’s world-class and has a passion for food like no other. He takes it to heart. He watches people’s expressions when they eat. So, with that passion, that’s really translated into a great dining experience at Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen,”  Boller said.

However, no great dining experience would be complete without proper furnishing. “We have a 40-foot cedar pergola, an outdoor bar, TVs lining the outside and a beautiful garden,” Boller described. 

This spacious outdoor area was a major selling point of this location, which took five years to find.

As one makes their way inside through the “two amazing, huge garage doors,” they enter into the “main bar area that has barn wood that was from the 1860s – a barn that was built in Ohio [that] they brought in on a flatbed truck,” Boller explained. 

“The brick is reclaimed from Manhattan. Any piece of metal has been handmade, so Bob and I spared no expense in creating the vibe and feeling we want customers to have when they walk in.”

 So, with all this success, one may ask, “What’s next for Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen?”

 The colleagues have started discussing thoughts of franchising the restaurant.

“We’ve got our life savings invested in Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen, so there’s a lot of things we need to pay off, but we do think there’s an opportunity, whether that be through another Garden Social Beer Garden and Kitchen location here on Long Island or maybe some catering. It’s something that we’re really interested in,” Boller said.

Plans of working with companies like Doordash and UberEats are also in the works.

As for the near future, being amid the most wonderful time of the year, the company plans on hosting a couple holiday events. “We’re doing a brunch with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 21 and Sunday, Dec. 22, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. We have Santa and two elves coming in,” Boller said. “We were talking about an ugly sweater party possibly too,” Russo added. 

As for Hofstra students, the company does not offer student discounts, however Boller said, “There’s probably something interesting we can do with finals week and kind of hooking the Hofstra community up. I know it’s a stressful time.”

Located a little less than two and a half miles away from Hofstra’s campus, this local business invites interested workers to apply for its open job positions. 

Boller added, “We’re always looking for hostesses, bartenders [and] waiters. We’re looking for kitchen staff, so if there [are] any aspiring chefs out there, we have spots on the line that we’d be happy to talk to you about.”