Revolving Doors

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]In a land where we play an annual game of musical shops and restaurants each new season, it’s always fun to see which businesses have survived, which have bitten the proverbial dust, and which brave new souls are willing to risk our beloved South Fork’s seasonal fluctuations and high rents in order to stake a claim to the reams of summer money and bragging rights to a Hamptons location.
East Hampton

In East Hampton, the turnover was not as great as in other years according to commercial real estate guru Hal Zwick of Town and Country. Renters last year took long leases making for “more stability and less availability.” However, he confirms that several have gone including Coach, Kate Spade, Lieb Cellars, Lord & Guy and C. Wonder.

C. Wonder will also be gone from the Southampton location as, alas, the clothing and home goods chain founded by billionaire and Tory Burch ex, Chris Burch, declared bankruptcy this winter, closing all stores nationwide. Luckily we still have our comfy pullover.

The biggest news is an incoming fitness studio (as if we need another), which will be moving into 30 Park Place. Wellness entrepreneur Tracy Anderson and her partners Gwyneth Paltrow (no intro needed) and Maria Baum are developing the 3,000 square-foot space scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend, to include food and retail options. Did we mention that it will be open year round? Anderson’s studio in Water Mill will remain.

Highway Diner in Wainscott is coming back, sort of. Last season the spot was rented out to Shuko as a pop-up, now the space will morph into the Highway Restaurant & Bar. Without the diner moniker we suspect prices will rise. Same ownership sold last April to a group in the city, local group sold a year later.

After three decades, Nichol’s has been shuttered. Winston’s Bar and Grill, run by former East Hampton Grill chef and Jamaica native, Winston Lyons, will offer seafood, steak and a fare much needed in these parts — Caribbean.

Manhattan celebrity boite Philippe, which has played host to such stars as Rihanna, Matt Damon, Oprah and Anna Wintour, will take over the Three Mile Harbor Road spot formerly occupied by Donatella Arpaia’s Sienna, offering dinner prepped by Philippe Chow and a deejay-fueled nightclub. The Club at Philippe will also provide an al fresco sushi bar on two back patios.

Miami’s Momi Ramen, where noodles are made fresh daily and served with 18-hour simmered pork bone broth, is slated to open year round in the place of East Hampton’s former Turtle Crossing.
After many years as a lively nightspot, Georgica held its last shindig last summer, but the space overlooking a finger of Georgica Pond will be taken over by Osteria Salina, which has been holding fort at 95 School Street in Bridgehampton. A bistro will take Osteria’s place according to the New York Post.

Southampton
Southampton has been a holdout for a long time, but it seems that finally a Starbucks will be encroaching upon the quaint village. An outpost of the mega chain is already hiring baristas to man its space on Hampton Road, across from Citarella. A good place to use the bathroom while zipping around town.

Glamorous hotspot Beautique will be taking roost at the Capri Hotel, which has hosted such pop-ups as Nobu and BLT Steak. The hotel was purchased by LA attorney to the stars, Mark Geragos, in February. The question is, will the East End space channel the spirit of Coco Chanel’s Paris house, as the restaurant’s website claims its 58th Street place does?

Delmonico’s, which has lasted for centuries in New York, only lasted a couple of years in the space across from the train depot. Circo, son of Le Cirque (Sirio Maccione’s sons’ more casual eatery), is going into the space. Bye-by also to Nammos Estiatorio, the upscale Greek tavern, on Southampton’s Main Street.

The space that held mainstay Barristers for eons was given a chic makeover last fall and rechristened as Le Charlot, a French bistro imported from the Upper East Side, with a “Left Bank feel” according to the New York Times.

Jeans mogul Scott Morrison will be expanding his upscale denim brand, 3×1, to Main Street, modeling it after his SoHo flagship. Is there really such a thing as bespoke jeans? Vinegar and olive oil emporium Vines & Branches has exited Southampton, but relocated to bustling Greenport.

Sag Harbor
After two years undergoing a full facelift, the once down the heels Baron’s Cove Inn, will open its new and improved doors to host guests in its 67 rooms (rates range from $299 per night to $799 for a double-height loft with private deck.) It will also contain a new 85-seat high-end restaurant helmed by Chef Matty Boudreau, formerly of Vine Street Cafe on Shelter Island.
Muse in Sag Harbor is not only back it’s expanding to Montauk in the location that housed Coast. Chef-owner Matthew Guiffrida will be duplicating the open-air vibe of his Sag Harbor spot by surrounding the space with French doors. SoulCycle is also opening a Montauk location.
The old Espresso Italian market has undergone a major renovation and will reopen as Harbor Market and Kitchen with a rustic café serving humanely raised meat and seafood. Like its predecessor, the market will purvey prepared meals, produce and pantry items. Tee and jeans maestro Henry Lehr will open a Sag Harbor boutique. Plaza Sports with locations in Montauk and Rocky Point will be opening in the former dry cleaners. The Ideal, Main Street’s standby stationery store, will be gone.
And, finally a fond farewell to the Kardashians, who were only using their retail space in Southampton as an excuse to film a TV show. They will not be missed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]