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The Plaza Surf and Sports building on Montauk’s Main Street is on the market.
The property at 716 Montauk Highway, which has been home to the popular athletic clothing store since 1972, is up for sale for $8.9 million. The two-level building is also home to the Soursop Tree Cafe, a Jamaican restaurant in a second-floor space that was formerly the home of Wok & Roll, one of the only Chinese restaurants in Montauk before it (and the other only one) recently closed down. Soursop takes up the left side of the second floor of the property, while Plaza Sports consists of the entire first floor and the right side of the second floor. The property is approximately 12,000 square feet, on .34 acres, and is listed with Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
“It’s a great property with a lot of potential,” said Greg Mansley, the property’s listing agent. “We want to make sure that everything is set and proper. It’s one of the best locations in Montauk and brings in some of the highest traffic.”
While the property itself is up for purchase, the Plaza Sports shop itself will stay under the ownership of Peter Ferraro Sr. According to a spokesperson for Douglas Elliman, Mr. Ferraro intends to focus more on selling his inventory online.
Mr. Ferraro said in an email that a deal with Jon Krasner—a partner in the purchase of Shagwong Tavern, which is also on Montauk’s Main Street, as well as the Saltbox restaurant on the Circle in 2015—was still active, under which Mr. Ferraro would sell the building and then rent space back from Mr. Krasner, apparently for the Plaza Sports store. The building has been on the market for about six months, Mr. Ferraro said.
Mr. Ferraro’s sons, Chris and Peter Jr., were both NHL hockey players for six years and only the second twins to ever play on the same team during their time with the New York Rangers from 1995 to 1997 (the first being Ronald and Richard Sutter, who played together for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1983-84 season).
Mr. Mansley said he hopes the property is sold before the next summer season. One idea being discussed is having the Plaza Sports store move exclusively to the right side of the second floor of the building while the first floor opens up for three new retail outlets, but Mr. Mansley said that nothing is set in stone yet.
“Plaza Sports has been one of the signature properties in Montauk for decades,” he said. “It’s family owned and the place where local kids and athletes go first to get their sporting gear so they don’t have to drive all the way to Riverhead. Whatever happens, I hope that it maintains the flavor of Montauk.”
on Sep 30, 2016