When new owners took over Mario’s, the half-century-old Italian that closed in 2023 and just reopened as Culpers 1778, they totally changed the menu and the decor but they were adamant that it remain a place for locals.

"Mario’s was an East Setauket staple," said Ed Fabian, and customers have already shared "a story about something that happened at Mario's."

The new restaurant’s name digs deep into the community’s past, referring to the Setauket-based Culper Ring which, according to the Three Village Historical Society, was "the nation’s first spy ring ... providing General George Washington with critical information that helped turn the tide of the American Revolution."

And all three partners grew up in the Three Village area (Stony Brook and the Setaukets), live and do business nearby. Fabian is a partner in Billie’s 1890 Saloon in Port Jefferson as well as Artemis, the Prohibition-themed cocktail bar that just opened at Station Yards in Ronkonkoma. Scott Brittman and Chris Otero also own Port Jefferson’s Whiskey Barrel.

Scott Brittman, left, Ed Fabian and Chris Otero are partners at Culpers 1778 in East Setauket. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus

"We wanted to do something that the neighborhood needed," Fabian explained. "We’ve got Italian — Elaine’s — and the Mexican place, Ixchel. We thought what was missing was a modern steakhouse."

For that, they turned to another son of Suffolk, chef Ron Chodkowski, whose resume includes Manhattan and Brooklyn restaurants and who briefly ran the kitchen across the street at Madiran The Wine Bar. His menu features a tight roster of prime steaks — filet mignon ($58), strip ($61), rib-eye ($66), tomahawk for two ($130) and porterhouse for two ($135).

Beyond the beef is a modern American menu with starters ($14 to $23) including crab cakes with herb aioli and shaved asparagus salad, duck arancini with truffle aioli, beef tartare, burrata with peperonata and toasted pine nuts, Caesar salad and charred Brussels sprouts. Mains ($29 to $55) include roast chicken with broccolini and cauliflower puree, steak frites au poivre with hand-cut fries, short-rib pappardelle, grilled beef Wellington with roasted heirloom carrots, seared scallops with fregola and lobster sauce, butterflied branzino with salsa verde and a half-pound dry-aged burger with pickles, onions, Cheddar and 1778 sauce.

Pan-seared scallops with fregola at Culpers 1778 in East Setauket. Credit: Newsday/Erica Marcus

According to Fabian, the renovation was a bear. The team needed to update and tone down "a lot of red upholstery, sponged walls and plastered-over brick walls." And the venue sprawls over multiple dining rooms. When Culpers 1778 opened on Tuesday night, it was only the bar area — the bar itself, one dining area beyond it and another two steps up from it. That’s 80 seats, but there are another 120 in the main dining room, a large party room, a "chef’s table" room and the deck that runs along the whole front facade of the building. Fabian expects every area to be up and running within the next few weeks.

With all those seats, in all those configurations, Fabian expects to continue another Mario’s tradition: hosting private parties large and small. The combination of a la carte dining and in-house catering "is going to work fine," he said. "It’s not easy for the kitchen to be putting out 50 porterhouses for two."

Culpers 1778, 212 Main St., East Setauket, 631-355-7037, culpers1778.com. Open 4 to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday.