Venn & Now: Hamptons Edition
Plus: Jean's investor deck for Sagaponack's Old Stove Pub, which private schools are leading the AI race, Eugene Remm is hiring for a new spot, the Nikki Beach settlement, and more....
The Hamptons are always changing. There’s always talk about the rolling hills and potato farms that disappeared long ago, and yes, that’s true. The real shift is cultural. Much like New York itself, the East End runs on institutions. Restaurants, parties, shops, hotels, scandals, social rituals. Some survive for generations! Others vanish almost overnight, leaving behind only old photos, gossip, and things people swear were better “before everyone found out about it.”
There was a time when Barefoot Contessa was simply a specialty food store in Westhampton before it became Ina Garten’s billion-dollar lifestyle universe. When Della Femina wasn’t just an advertising legend’s surname, but a restaurant people actually dressed up to go to. And a time when a stop at Dreesen’s after the beach was just part of the rhythm of being out east.
The Hamptons nightlife ecosystem used to feel a lot scrappier too. Before Southampton became all sprinter vans idling outside Sant Ambroeus, there was Jet East (remember Jet East?). The velvet ropes and models smoking cigarettes outside made North Sea Road feel adjacent to the Meatpacking District. Dune eventually took over the space, and existed only for a flash-in-the-pan. Leonardo DiCaprio was a near-constant presence there during those summers. Is it even possible anymore to set off the kind of paparazzi frenzy that happened outside that place out East? I think it may be inconceivable to try. And we can’t forget Pink Elephant, which took over the Capri and turned Southampton into bottle-service central for a few chaotic summers.
Lizzie Grubman’s infamous SUV incident became one of the defining tabloid moments of Hamptons excess. And then there was Sir Ivan’s Castle in Water Mill, with a dragon and pastrami trays at four in the morning, and the infamous “sex dungeon” everyone talked about but few claimed to have actually seen (…despite that it was literally right there when you walked in?). The place was equal parts Studio 54, Burning Man, and Times Square. The mythology around those parties feels different now after the Alexander brothers case and the allegations tied to the property through multiple lawsuits.
And some things, thank God, refuse to die. The Hampton Jitney has somehow survived more than fifty years of traffic, hedge fund booms, influencer migrations, and those damn sprinter vans. The East Hampton Star has been publishing continuously since 1885. The Surf Lodge, now entering its late teenage years, lives to see another summer — this time with a Popeyes chicken tenders collaboration.
Maidstone Club and the Hampton Classic will outlive all of us. There are still lines outside the Stephen Talkhouse. You can still get grilled cheese and ice cream at Candy Kitchen. This is because the social choreography changes, but some landmarks remain untouchable.
Others are symbolic of life outside the East End. Diddy’s White Parties have effectively been replaced by Michael Rubin’s all-white party, which come with significantly better PR. In Sag Harbor, residents are actively petitioning to stop Main Street from becoming “Chain Street.” And the pop-up economy has fully arrived: Chelsea Living Room at Gurney’s and Dante taking over the Pridwin on Shelter Island. Collaborations migrate east alongside everyone else.
The membershipification of the Hamptons exists, too. The Dune Deck membership model feels like a preview of what’s coming, as private clubs continue their slow march eastward from Manhattan and Palm Beach. Some of these changes are genuinely good. Swifty’s at The Hedges gave the historic inn new life under Sarah Wetenhall’s renovation. But what frustrates locals and old-timers most isn’t necessarily that new places open. It’s what they replace.
Which brings us to what RPS is talking about today: Jean’s taking over Old Stove Pub. As investor decks detailing the renovation plans and operational vision for this summer continue making the rounds, the takeover is beginning to leave even more to be desired than many locals first thought — and plenty of people were already unhappy about the sale of Old Stove Pub to begin with.
We’ll get into the latest details surrounding the renovation, operations, and what’s planned for the property after the jump.
Also on the agenda: a look at Babe’s Diner’s first summer weekend in Sag Harbor, Eugen Remm is hiring for a new spot, the price of Knicks play-off tickets, a few new must-follow Substacks, the Nikki Beach settlement, a JPMorgan lawsuit over a Super Bowl platter, which three U.S. private schools are leading in AI compared to all other private schools and more…
Everyone I know is either building something or being shaken down to fund someone else’s something. My entire social circle has become a Venn diagram of “founder” and “angel investor,” with a very small circle in the middle labeled “Carson, investing in her wardrobe.” The upside of all of this? I have access to pretty much every investor deck in circulation. Some are interesting but most are just a crime against PowerPoint.
