The results of off-season reshuffling in Hamptons’ commercial real estate are starting to take shape. A number of new restaurants, hotels and other venues have already opened, while others will debut by the time weekenders start flooding in.
Town & Country’s director of commercial real estate, Hal Zwick, said there is not enough inventory to keep pace with the demand from new restaurateurs, hoteliers and others interested in renting space. As a result, he said, leasing activity, which was strong in 2013 and 2014, has started to slow a bit. But “slow” turnover on the Hamptons hospitality scene is a relative concept. Below are some of the new (and newly owned) establishments to watch this season.
Baron’s Cove, Sag Harbor
This Shelter Island Sound-facing, 67-room hotel is getting ready to reopen on Memorial Day after two years of extensive renovations by new owners Cape Advisors Group, the firm that developed the Mondrian Soho in Lower Manhattan in 2011. Cape Advisors bought this Sag Harbor property in 2013. Room rates start at $299 per night, and reach $799 for a double-height loft with a private deck. The 85-seat restaurant will be headed by chef Matty Boudreau, known for the popular Vine Street Café on Shelter Island. This marks Cape Advisors’ first hospitality play in the Hamptons, but the company is also behind the high-profile $40 million Bulova Watchcase renovation in Sag Harbor, which includes 64 condos, townhouses and bungalows. That project hit the market in 2013. In New Jersey, it owns several historic inns in Cape May, as well as a boutique hotel in Atlantic City called the Chelsea.
Winston’s Bar and Grill, East Hampton
This new roadside eatery, owned by Jamaican-born chef Winston Lyons, will offer seafood, steak and Caribbean fare. The restaurant, which is on Route 27 west of downtown East Hampton, is replacing Nichol’s of East Hampton, a mainstay that shuttered in October following issues with structural defects and code violations on outdoor seating. While Lyons — who reportedly worked at Turtle Bay Crossing, the Meeting House and the East Hampton Grill — completed minor renovations, he said he’s holding back on more extensive changes because the owner, James Fischer, plans to rebuild the entire freestanding structure. Fischer’s family has owned the spot since the 1970s when it was the Quiet Clam.
Harbor Market and Kitchen, Sag Harbor
Chef Paul Del Favero and his Spanish business manager-wife, Susana, picked up this spot, the former site of Espresso Italian Market, for $1.6 million. A unique property occupying a corner of a residential neighborhood, it includes 1,500 square feet of commercial space and an attached 2,200-square-foot house on a lot that cannot be subdivided, according to Town & Country’s Zwick, who brokered the transaction. The couple is planning to open a European-style rustic café there late this month. Focused on local purveyors, humanely raised meat and seafood, the market will offer freshly prepared meals, as well as produce and pantry items.
Baron’s Cove, Sag Harbor
Momi Ramen, East Hampton
Ramen has finally made its way to the East End thanks to chef-owner Jeffrey Z. Chen, who opened his first Momi Ramen in Miami in 2012. Locals will be able to get their fix at this roadside eatery — located at 221 Pantigo Road off Route 27, just beyond downtown East Hampton — year round. Chen purchased the 2,750-square-foot building from Bostwick’s Clambakes and Catering. Zwick represented both sides in the deal. The new restaurant took over the space in January and began renovations. The opening date has yet to be announced.
Le Charlot, Southampton
The Hamptons outpost of the Upper East Side eatery offers classic French dishes in a traditional white-tablecloth setting at 36 Main Street in Southampton Village. Brothers Thierry and Bruno Gelormini opened the location in November, replacing American pub Barrister’s, which shut down in 2013 when longtime owner Michael Ferran sold the building to a company called M&D Realty for $4 million.
Capri Hotel, Southampton
Los Angeles-based attorney-to-the-stars Mark Geragos picked up this 29-room boutique hotel for $4.7 million in February. Geragos is planning to renovate and to tap a new restaurant operator for this season, though he has not yet released details. Whoever it is will have big shoes to fill, as previous operators have included Nobu and BLT Steak. Celebs like Howard Stern, Robert De Niro and Donna Karan have all been spotted dining there in the past. Brown Harris Stevens’ Anthony Cerio and Mitchel Natter represented the sellers, a trio of hotel developers.
Dune Deck, Westhampton
Chef Paul Del Favero and wife Susana
The Dune Deck Beach Resort, a one-time Westhampton hotspot, reportedly sold last month to Discovery Land CEO Michael Meldman for nearly $19 million, in what several brokers believed to be a direct deal with Medallion Financial Corp.’s Alvin and Andrew Murstein. The sale price is about 27 times the $700,000 the Murstein brothers paid for it in 2010. Meldman is backed by billionaire Ron Burkle, actor George Clooney, and businessman Rande Gerber. According to the New York Post, he is partnering with the trio on a 500-acre luxury golf club and residential community near the resort in East Quogue, and Dune Deck will become part of that project. The hotel itself will reopen to guests after renovations, which are expected to take a year or two.