Two Biggies for Sale on Newtown

Sam’s, the venerable restaurant, and Scoop, the chic boutique, on the block
By Bridget LeRoy |
Sam’s restaurant is on the market for $6.5 million, while the asking price for the building that houses Scoop is $13.95 million.
Sam’s restaurant is on the market for $6.5 million, while the asking price for the building that houses Scoop is $13.95 million. Morgan McGivern Photos

    One has only to look at the “for lease” signs dominating store windows in East Hampton Village, or any village in America, for that matter, to know that the economy has yet to bounce back with any force. And now one of East Hampton’s landmark businesses has just joined the market: Sam’s restaurant has been listed for $6.5 million with Brown Harris Stevens.
    Sam’s, the eatery that has served pizza and libations to the likes of Jackson Pollock at its neon-lit Newtown Lane location since 1947, is on the market for either rent or sale. “For generations one of the most popular dining destinations in East Hampton, the restaurant has a bar, full-service kitchen, and seats 91,” reads the Brown Harris Stevens Web site.
    The building also houses a 400-square-foot retail space, currently occupied by John MacWhinnie at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, which will move this month back to a previous space farther up the road, and two apartments upstairs.
    The property is available for lease at an annual rate of $288,000.
    Sam Naska and his family ran the restaurant for many years. Sam’s, which has a full-service menu in addition to a pizza menu, is one of the longest-running restaurants on Long Island. Graham Quinn, the current owner, could not be reached for comment.
    Directly across the street from Sam’s sits Scoop, an 8,000-square-foot retail space that also hit the market this week, with a listing price of $13.95 million. The building has an additional 3,000 square feet above the clothing store and a 6,000-square-foot basement.
    Scoop’s lease on the .15-acre property continues until 2025, but the listing broker, Lee Minetree of Saunders & Associates, said that any purchaser would get “an excellent return” from the rent.
    “It’s an investment,” Mr. Minetree said. “You can make more with this than by putting your money in a bank these days.” The Scoop property is owned by Premier Equities, a Manhattan-based real estate firm that specializes in acquiring and developing retail commercial properties.
    Mr. Minetree said that “there’s not a ton of stuff for sale, at least not in prime retail space,” meaning the heart of the village. “I think it’s better than in years past.”


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by WaterMillreader (not verified) | December 1, 2011 - 10:33pm
Uh, let's see. Seven million dollars for a chance to sell twenty dollar pizzas, or 14 million to sell six hundred dollar tee shirts. Monty, I think I'd like door number three.
by Bonac Belle | December 1, 2011 - 11:16pm
$14 million?? For the old Tillinghast hardware building???? Someone give the Tillinghasts a cut of that action! The world has spun off its axis when a relatively modest building could go for $14 million . . . in the middle of a half-occupied, half-empty ghost street . . . in the middle of a recession.
by Dave R (not verified) | December 2, 2011 - 10:32am
That's not the old hardware store.
by jgasreltibbetts@aol.com (not verified) | December 3, 2011 - 9:44pm
It is sad to see how much of East Hampton is changing. It doesn't matter much when "Progress" takes place in someone elses' back yard...But when it is Home Sweet Home... I wish people could "know" what growing up there in the '60's was like. It was so simple-we never "realized" we were living in a Rich mans' playground...." How sad it must be for the Naska-Johnson family- to see this come to an end- Much as it is sad for me to see my childhood home being sold. Soon there will be -No locals left...Money and Greed...Robbed us from our Roots... If there was still affordable homes- I think much would have stayed in the childrens' hands...Also shops that locals could have earned a living in and not had to commute. Who needs a $100 purse? I am a NYer displaced to Omaha Nebraska.
by Ted Davidson (not verified) | December 8, 2011 - 3:41pm
I hope Sam's stays in business. This is my families favorite Italian restaurant by far and their food has been consistently excellent. Losing Sam's would rip the Soul out of East Hampton or whats left of it. I hope someone buys Sam's and keeps it just the way it is. Perhaps upgrade the interior a little but please keep Sam's and there great menu.