The Chas. opens in former Carrabba's in Smithtown

With the opening of The Chas. American Restaurant on Tuesday evening, restaurateur Jerry Sbarro is pushing his empire onward and eastward.

The owner of Louie’s Prime Steak & Seafood in Port Washington, Rothmann’s Steakhouse in East Norwich and Matteo’s Italian restaurants in Huntington and Roslyn Heights hadn’t been looking for a second Suffolk restaurant but, as soon as he heard that Carrabba’s in Smithtown had closed in 2024, he reached out to the landlord. The Smithtown Bypass location — huge, visible and with plenty of parking — looked too good to pass up. He closed the deal quickly and then turned his attention to renovating Louie’s (established in 1905 and in need of an upgrade), which reopened last spring.

The Chas. takes its name from Rothmann’s, whose first owners (in 1907) were Charles and Franziska Rothmann and whose full name is actually Chas. Rothmann’s. Initially Sbarro’s idea was to make the Smithtown venue a more casual, value-priced version of the original in East Norwich, but he changed his mind while working on Louie’s.

"In Port Washington," he recalled, "there was some pushback that I was making it too high end. But I wanted to serve prime, dry-aged steaks, the best seafood. I wanted it to be not just a neighborhood place but one that would draw people from other towns. I took a gamble that they would come. And they have."

He’s making the same gamble in Smithtown. He not only gave the building a gut renovation, he widened its footprint so that it can now accommodate close to 300 guests. There’s a bar and lounge in the western portion; in the east, the space can be configured as one dining room or a series of smaller seating areas. The decor walks the line between clubby and cool, traditional and modern. There’s a pleasant interplay between the modern lighting, the plush upholstery and the stylized fox-hunt paintings that decorate one wall.

Similarly, executive chef Mark Serrantino put together a menu that is approachable and luxurious. Starters ($16 to $29) include crispy rice with spicy tuna and sriracha mayo, artichoke-spinach dip, Wagyu pigs in blankets and a lobster-and-crab cake with chipotle aioli.

The raw bar features clams and oysters on the half shell; shrimp, lobster and crab cocktails and Ossetra caviar with all the trimmings ($150) and there’s a small selection of sushi nigiri and rolls. Mains range from fried chicken (in a gleaming bucket, $32), huge short rib ravioli ($34) and Duroc baby back ribs ($43) to Alaskan halibut with yuzu-pomegranate gastrique ($46), beef Wellington ($63) and a prime, dry-aged 40-ounce porterhouse ($78).

Among handheld items are a prime cheeseburger with fries ($26), a Wagyu smashburger with American cheese, Nueske’s bacon, a fried egg and truffle fries ($36) and a corned beef sandwich with melted Gruyère on marble rye ($28).

The Chas. American Restaurant, 730 Smithtown Bypass, Smithtown, 631-246-0882, thechasrestaurant.com. Beginning March 10, open Monday to Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m., Sunday 4 to 9 p.m.