Last week, an excavator tore up the Reutershan Parking Lot at the end of Eastman Way in East Hampton Village as rings for a new sanitary system sat behind a chain-link fence, a sign of big changes to come downtown.
The new system will benefit a building with several stores from 58 to 68 Park Place. One store that it won't benefit is Khanh Sports East Hampton Village, operated for nearly 30 years at 60 Park Place by Khanh Ngo. A village staple, it is one of the dwindling number of businesses that has remained open year round.
"This corner is going to be a restaurant," Mr. Ngo said on Friday, pointing to the space currently occupied by Warren Tricomi, a hair salon. "Over there, a new, fancier store," he said, pointing at his storefront. But it's not clear what is going where, or how many "wet-space" eateries could be served by the new septic system.
At a Dec. 5 village design review board meeting at which he discussed the changes to the building, Jay Eastman, whose family has owned the property for 55 years, said "There will be some movement of tenants," adding, "Ideally we would love everyone to stay, but realistically it'll be tough to have everyone stay."
Billy Hajek, the village planner, said Tuesday that the new low-nitrogen septic system would allow for a "wet use retail store, like a deli or pizzeria, to have 16 seats."
A review of village records showed there is not an active building permit on file for the work being done, and therefore no floor plan to study.
"I don't have a clear indication," Tom Preiato, the village's building inspector, said in a phone call. "The plans that have been submitted don't have an exact number of proposed units. I'm happy there's movement and redevelopment, but we have a process, and they're still getting acclimated to the process."
The D.R.B. meeting focused mostly on the look of the building's facade and a vague idea to "activate" the alleyways attached to the building. "East Hampton is at an inflection point," Mr. Eastman said at the meeting. "We have an opportunity to bring in wet-use tenants, potential small restaurants, and add life to the town like we've seen in Sag Harbor. We want to curate the building in a way so that it's not super high-end and fancy but approachable."
"I've always thought ice cream should be a big part of the town, something ice cream-centric makes sense," he said. "It could be grab and go. We had Amber Waves here this year, so you could have the next iteration of that."
"Our mission is to serve the East End community, so we're exploring how to continue our year-round presence in the village going forward," Amanda Merrow, a co-owner of Amber Waves, said in a text. "We have not signed anything, and we are definitely not opening a restaurant," she said by phone later.
An owner involved with Kumiso, the new restaurant that opened in an alley off Newtown Lane last summer, said that it too is talking with Mr. Eastman about opening in his soon-to-be-refurbished building. Nothing has been signed, and although he did not want to be quoted, he said he is actively pursuing the property and expects to make a formal offer soon.
Mr. Ngo, who has another retail location outside on Montauk Highway in Amagansett, represents collateral damage as the village encourages food establishments in the downtown. "I was notified two days ago," he said last week, as a man with a leaf blower chased a brown cloud of dust from the fenced-in construction site just outside his shuttered shop. "We were going to stay and then the landlord said, 'You have to exit ASAP.' We have two months left. I already went to the trade shows and made purchases getting ready for the summer. Now I can't even be open to do anything to exit."
He's not alone. Warren Tricomi, an upscale hair salon that has been at 66 Park Place for decades, has only two weeks to leave. It does not have a new location yet. Meanwhile, Kelly Isaac, the owner of Fierce Grace Yoga Studio, said in a phone call that her situation was different. She left her 68 Park Place location at the end of January. However, she only opened last year, and her lease was for six months. "We had a really good experience with the landlord," she said. Her new location at 3 Railroad Avenue, next to Hampton Chutney, opens tomorrow. In addition to the hot yoga classes she offers, she'll have two ice baths, and a treatment room for acupuncture and massage.
Meanwhile downtown, "The new septic system will give them enough flow to have more of a wet use at that location, kind of like what was done at Tutto Cafe and Starbucks," said Marcos Baladron, the village administrator. "We're saddened to learn that Khanh is leaving. He's been with the village for close to 30 years and he's given much to the community. The buildings needed to be refurbished. It's a shame that it comes with a price and the price is a local guy like Khanh has been affected by it."
"I think it was wrongly done," said Mr. Ngo. "I could have prepared myself a year ago. I want to let my customers know that I'm leaving, and I wish I could invite them into the store. It's not fancy or anything, but it's been amazing for me. I always appreciated my customers."