For close to ten years, Steve Druek, owner of Druek True Value, has decorated and lit the tree at the Center Moriches Square Shopping Center for the hamlet's annual lighting. He has done it on his own time and by himself, Tri-Hamlet News reported last December.
The job takes about four hours on a 10-foot ladder. "I always tweak it a little every year," Druek told Tri-Hamlet News. He said he keeps adding lights, and the total has reached about 2,000 feet of multicolored strands, spilling onto the bushes around the tree.
Both of the season's big public nights are put on by people who already work on or near Main Street. A hardware store owner strings the tree. The chamber of commerce organizes the lighting. The fire department drives its trucks down the street. Because the street runs the season, whatever changed on Main Street this year will be part of what everyone walks past on Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12.
The Tree Has Merchants Behind It
Druek and his father have owned the hardware store for more than two decades. He told Tri-Hamlet News that he offered to take over the tree as a chamber member, back when Julie Pratt was chamber president. The tree itself was originally donated by Eberhard Nurseries.
The lighting has always been a joint effort. In 2024, the Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches and the Jewish Center of the Moriches held the tree and menorah lighting together at Center Moriches Square, and Village Music Shoppe was also credited as a host. Suffolk County News placed that ceremony in the shopping center's parking lot, near the King Kullen. Last year the event was again tied to Center Moriches Square, the same lot Druek decorates.
This year's Community Tree and Menorah Lighting is on the Center Moriches school district calendar for Friday, Dec. 11, from 7 to 8 p.m. In recent years the tree has stood at Center Moriches Square, the lot facing Main Street.
The chamber's role reaches past the tree. Last December it asked businesses in Moriches, Center Moriches and East Moriches to decorate their storefronts. The plan called for a panel of judges to review the decorated fronts during the second week of December and choose one "Most Holiday Decorated Business of the Year." That business would receive the William A. Savino Award and have its name engraved on a perpetual plaque, which it would display for the following year. Gerry Sapanaro, a chamber member, said of Druek's work that "he always improves on it from year to year, making it better and better," according to Tri-Hamlet News.
Saturday Belongs to the Fire Department
The next night, the Center Moriches Fire Department takes over the street. Its annual Holiday Parade of Lights runs Saturday, Dec. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. It starts at Montauk Highway and Lake Avenue, follows Main Street, and ends at Ocean Avenue.
Here's what the department's event listing lays out:
- Who marches: local fire departments, ambulance companies and many other community groups
- The finish: Santa arrives at the end of the route, riding on top of the Center Moriches FD Tower Ladder
- Rain date: Sunday, Dec. 13, at 5 p.m.
- Point of contact: Ex Chief Bill Renzetti, with questions going to [email protected]
The parade lasts two hours on a short stretch of road, which makes the storefronts the backdrop for the whole evening. This year, a few of them look different.
What the Route Passes in 2026
The biggest change on Main Street this year is a building that had been dark for a very long time. Red Rocket Roasters, a family-owned coffee shop and small-batch roastery, celebrated its grand opening on Sunday, June 14, 2026. Its address is 390 Main St.
Greater Long Island reported that the building sat empty for nearly two decades after a fire. It had once been a longtime camera store and stayed vacant even after it changed hands. Frank Dolan, who owns the shop with his co-owner, told the outlet, "Our real estate agent couldn't even find the owner." The pair eventually tracked the owner down and bought the building on June 14, 2025. They spent a year renovating it and opened exactly one year after the purchase.
The business came out of the same kind of local network that keeps the tree lit. Before they had a storefront, Dolan and his partner sold coffee from a trailer at fairs and festivals across Long Island. Today the shop roasts its beans on site and buys its pastries from Frank & Son Bakery. The menu also includes breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese, paninis and a grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
A few doors down the list, the change went the other way. Sea Cove Italian American Bar & Grill at 361 Main St. has a sign on its front door reading "Sea Cove Is Permanently Closed," Newsday reported in early October. The restaurant served Italian and American dishes, including pasta, steaks and seafood, and had been in that space since at least 2011.
Here are this year's changes on Main Street, plus two elsewhere in the hamlet:
| Business | Address | What changed in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Red Rocket Roasters | 390 Main St. | Opened June 14 in a building vacant nearly two decades |
| Sea Cove Italian American Bar & Grill | 361 Main St. | Permanently closed, per a sign reported in October |
| La Volpe Ristorante & Anton Pizzeria | 611 Montauk Highway | Taken over by the Avino family, with staff and chef retained |
| Ruby Impact | 5C Canal Street | Kickboxing and strength studio opened at the end of August |
At La Volpe, Greater Long Island reported that Merri, Jim and Michael Avino took over this summer and kept the existing staff and chef. Ruby Impact opened at 5C Canal Street at the end of August, Long Island Wave reported. The studio, founded by Ruby Comeau, held its ribbon cutting on Sept. 1 with Councilwoman Karen Dunne Kesnig and the Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches. The same chamber that runs the tree lighting showed up for the studio's opening. In a hamlet this size, one organization ends up at most of the public moments.
A Chamber Turning 100 in the Middle of It
The Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches celebrates its centennial the same week as the lights. Its anniversary dinner is Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Rock Hill Country Club. Tickets are $75 and include dinner, an open bar and music by The New Millennium Jazz Band, Tri-Hamlet News reported. The chamber's own December calendar describes it as a Great Gatsby-themed 100th-anniversary party.
That puts the chamber's 100th-anniversary party, the tree lighting it has organized in past years, and the fire department's parade within five days of each other.
The Dates, in Order
Here is everything on the public calendar from this week through the parade:
- Friday, Nov. 13, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 14, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: The Friends of the Library Jewelry Sale at the Center Moriches Free Public Library. Proceeds support the library.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8, 6 to 9 p.m.: The Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches 100th-anniversary dinner at Rock Hill Country Club, $75.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 10:30 a.m.: Holiday Ornaments at the library.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 7 to 8 p.m.: The Community Tree and Menorah Lighting.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 6 to 8 p.m.: The Center Moriches FD Holiday Parade of Lights, Montauk Highway and Lake Avenue to Ocean Avenue, with a rain date of Sunday, Dec. 13, at 5 p.m.
The library has more going on than the jewelry sale. Its November/December newsletter announces new cabinets for the Library of Things and a Nintendo Switch 2 that patrons can borrow. It also thanks the Friends of the Library for buying a new Smart Board for the Children's Activity Room. The jewelry sale this Friday and Saturday helps pay for purchases like that.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, the parade starts at 6 p.m. at Montauk Highway and Lake Avenue and ends at Ocean Avenue, with Santa arriving at the finish on the tower ladder.
Main Street is the part of Center Moriches people know best, and a reopened building or a closed restaurant changes how a block feels to live on. If you own a home in Center Moriches and want to know how this year's changes on and around Main Street affect what it's worth, The Hamptons Edge Team can walk you through a current, local read on your property. Get Your Free Home Valuation, and we'll see you at the parade.
