Noah Schwartz, the award-winning chef who worked at the Seafood Barge in Southold before it closed for good last Thanksgiving, bought the Frisky Oyster Bar from Dennis McDermott last month.

Mr. Schwartz said he's focusing on "seafood in small plates and a raw bar" at Noah's -- a concept he's been dreaming up for years.

"And I really wanted to be in this location, which is why I approached Dennis -- after careful consideration," he said. "I actually moved here two years ago with the intention to open something in Greenport. But I'm glad I spent the time at the Seafood Barge to get to know the community."

And now that the community knows him, Mr. Schwartz decided to name the restaurant after himself.

"I was thinking 'Macha,' which is the Nepalese word for fish, but then I thought that might sound a little too Asian-fusion to people, and that's not what they'd really be getting," he said. "Some of my old customers from the Seafood Barge have already come in here, saying, 'It's you!'ââ"

Mr. McDermott had launched the oyster bar only about six months ago as a more casual version of his Frisky Oyster restaurant down the street. Even though the Frisky Oyster Bar was doing well, Mr. McDermott said it was time for a change.

"There's other things left in me," Mr. McDermott said. "I was happy to relinquish this business to Noah."

Mr. Schwartz, a 31-year-old native of Nassau County, studied at the New England Culinary Institute in Burlington, Vt. He said that his small plates of lobster, steamers, duck and tuna will be priced from around $7 to $15, and he'll offer diners a "taste" menu -- appetizers such as crab-stuffed deviled eggs for $2 or $3.

"It's not so much about eating less but eating well," he said, adding that he plans to infuse the East Coast theme of Noah's with a little West Coast flavor.

Before settling on the North Fork, where his parents own a home in Southold, Mr. Schwartz spent years working in the Sonoma and Napa valleys of California. "On the West Coast, restaurant food tends to be fresher and lighter," he said. "But I'll also do a fish 'n' chips, because no one really does a good one out here."

Noah's will also offer small pours of wine with each item -- another advantage of the small-plate concept, Mr. Schwartz said.

"You can go through the menu and order small plates instead of having to commit to an entire entrée," he said. "You can mix and match and create your own dining experience."

As his father, Paul, installed lightly tinted mirrors behind the bar last Saturday, Mr. Schwartz described how Noah's will have an entirely different ambiance from that of the Frisky Oyster Bar. He said he wants to give the place an "industrial" feel with stainless steel bar stools and lighting fixtures but also provide coziness with a warm, light-green paint on the walls and dark hardwood flooring.

Noah's staff is a mix of people he worked with at the Seafood Barge and those who wanted to stay on from the Frisky Oyster Bar. While Mr. Schwartz will take care of the culinary end of things, his wife, Sunita, will be handling the management side. And Noah's, unlike so many other restaurants on the North Fork in winter, will stay open late on weekends for the bar crowd.

"The Seafood Barge was notorious for closing early, and we didn't have much of a bar scene," he said. "Greenport needs a decent bar scene."

eschultz@timesreview.com