Worry Over Sale of Salivar’s Restaurant

    In what was probably its shortest meeting ever, the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee met on Monday for 23 minutes in the Montauk School. But what the meeting lacked in length it made up for with information.

    Talk immediately turned to the sale of Salivar’s restaurant, with some members worried that the new owners, Brian and JoAnn Obergfell, were planning to make it a club, like the handful of others that have popped up in the hamlet in recent years. They were assured by Linda Barnds, the committee’s secretary and a real estate agent, that it would remain a restaurant, complete with the infamous great white shark caught by Frank Mundus hanging over its pool table.

    Judi Desiderio issued a release on Monday saying that the popular restaurant, bar, and dock had been sold through her agency, Town and Country. The price was a reported $3.3 million.

    Ms. Barnds also told the committee that Lenny’s, a restaurant and bar just to the east of Salivar’s, was in contract with a buyer as well. The two establishments share a dockside parking lot. Lenny’s is listed at $4.7 million.

    East Hampton Town Councilwoman Julia Prince ran the meeting in the absence of Lisa Grenci, the committee chairwoman. She told members that Pete Ferraro, who leases property to 7-Eleven on Main Street, has agreed to reconfigure the parking pattern of the lot there.

    As the 7-Eleven is right across the street from the Montauk I.G.A. and close to a pedestrian walkway, there have been congestion problems. Ms. Prince said several town board members assumed the others had called Mr. Ferraro to ask him to alter the layout, but it turned out nobody had. She spoke to him and found that he was willing to change the entrance and exit each to one way. The entrance will be on the east side and the exit to the west.

    The parking lot at the I.G.A. will also soon be changed, to one way off Montauk Highway with the exit to the rear. There will be no more exiting onto the highway, Ms. Prince said. At present, left turns are not allowed from the supermarket lot onto the highway, but police say the sign is often ignored, resulting in a traffic hazard.

    And finally, after months of complaining about the 7-Eleven sandwich sign set up on the state right of way in front of the convenience store, members were told the town had removed it. Many said they hadn’t even noticed.