Cyril's Fish House Will Close For Good, Citing Restrictions Following Court Conviction

One of the South Fork’s most famous bars, Cyril’s Fish House on Napeague, will not reopen for the summer of 2016 after losing a long battle with the town over numerous building code violations at the ramshackle fried food and frozen drink dispensary.

The owners of Cyril’s announced on Monday that the often-overstuffed roadside bar and restaurant will close for good in the wake of a deal with the town by the property’s owners that called for an overhaul of the building and placed stringent limits on the number of people allowed on the premises at any one time.

The announcement was made on the restaurant’s Facebook page, saying that there will be a yard sale at the property on May 28 at which everything in the restaurant and bar, from artwork to kitchen equipment, will be sold.

An employee of the restaurant said that owner Cyril Fitzsimmons told the staff that the restrictions placed on the restaurant by the town and the landlords made reopening for the summer season not worthwhile. On Tuesday Mr. Fitzsimmons left town for Anguilla, where he spends winters and once owned a sister Cyril’s establishment.

Mr. Fitzsimmons reportedly tried to secure the lease for another restaurant building nearby, most recently known as @Bernies, but lost out to another business, believed to be connected to Gurney’s Inn.

The agreement, reached by the property owners—three members of the Dioguardi family—and the East Hampton Town Attorney’s office, required that the main bar be removed entirely from the front of the building, that all restaurant and bar patrons remain behind a screened fence on the west side of the building and that no more than 150 people may be on the premises at any one time.

The bar, made famous by its signature drink, the Banana-Bailey’s-Colada, or BBC, has stood out in recent years for the large crowds that failed to fit into the tiny bar area on summer weekend afternoons. Crowds mingled in the parking lot and often nearly in the traffic lanes of the highway.

In 2013, the property was issued dozens of code violations for expansion of the building and business without permits.

Earlier this month the landlords agreed to make the physical changes to the property to bring it into compliance with the code and avoid going to trial. Mr. Fitzsimmons fought the code violation charges but last week was found guilty by a jury of 45 violations. He is appealing.