New Store, Familiar Faces

   The space at 199 Pantigo Road, previously occupied by Pumpernickel’s Deli, has an eye-catching sign in front of it now, heralding the opening of Fish 27, a new seafood store with a familiar face or two.

    The shop is a mom-and-pop venture. Actually, it’s pop-and-son, owned by Jay Gold, a former Clio-winning commercial editor and director, and his son, Derek Miller, who has been in the seafood business on the East End for 15 years.

    Tony Minardi, the former owner of Claws on Wheels, is on deck as catering director, promising “fresh, fresh fish,” he said, and also lending a hand with the retail end of things.

    Clambakes, raw bars, and more are in the works, but for now, the principals are busy planning the grand opening next Thursday.

    Mr. Gold owned a restaurant in the MGM building in Manhattan for a while, and has been coming to East Hampton since 1970, also working as a broker on the South Fork. So why a seafood store?

    He deferred to Mr. Miller, saying, “Derek knows an awful lot about fish.” Mr. Miller worked with Inlet Seafood in Montauk and, he said, “delivered a lot of lobsters to Tony over the years.”

    “We’re going for a nice, warm, wonderful feel,” Mr. Gold said. The store is open, airy, and white, and Mr. Gold said that everyone behind the counter “is a personality.” Anthony Petty, who formerly worked for Second House Tavern, is the chef.

    “We’ll have groceries that will accompany everything we sell. And some Italian specialty items,” like linguine with fresh clam sauce and shrimp scampi with pasta, he said.

    There are plans to carry a mix of fried food and healthy food — like fish tacos and grilled seafood — and the owners are committed to using local vendors as much as possible.

    “We won’t have clams unless they’re local,” Mr. Gold said.

    The Fish 27 Web site is fish27 seafoodmarket.com.