Hampton Bays To Get Two New Waterfront Eateries As Edgewater Owner Plans Expansion

Hampton Bays residents still mourning the loss of the Hampton Bays Diner and Friendly’s on Montauk Highway may soon see two new eateries on the opposite side of the hamlet, along Shinnecock Bay.

John Venesina, the owner of Edgewater Restaurant, a seasonal Italian and seafood restaurant facing the bay, recently purchased the two properties adjacent to his restaurant on Montauk Highway and intends to open both a grill house and coffee house, according to David Gilmartin Jr., an attorney and partner with Farrell Fritz in Water Mill.

The old Hampton Star Motel, which was directly west of Edgewater, was purchased by Mr. Venesina for $750,000 in 2016, according to public records. It will ideally become Hampton Bays’s newest grill house, Mr. Gilmartin said on Monday.

Mr. Venesina had also purchased 5 South Valley Road, a single-family five-bedroom house, to the east of Edgewater, for $800,000 in 2014, according to public records. Mr. Gilmartin said this week that the plan is to turn that 3,825 square-foot two-story home into a lively coffee house.

“This is what we hope to do,” Mr. Gilmartin said on Monday. “We’re constantly losing places where you can eat on the water.”

In addition, both properties will house several two-bedroom employee housing apartments, which would require a special exception variance from the Southampton Town Planning Department, according to Mr. Gilmartin.

Mr. Venesina must also obtain several variances from the town in order to create ample parking for all three restaurants, Mr. Gilmartin explained. He added that the plan also includes connecting the parking lots between Edgewater and the proposed coffee house for better flow.

The front of the proposed coffee house currently is blocked from the road by 8-foot-tall hedges along Montauk Highway, which Mr. Gilmartin said the owner plans to trim.

“The uses that we have proposed are permitted,” he said, noting that all three properties are located in the resort waterfront business district. “But we need some area variances.”

Mr. Gilmartin and Mr. Venesina attended a pre-submission conference with the Town Planning Department last month to discuss the plans for the three properties. He said he expects to receive a report from the town on March 8, laying out what variances are needed.

“Then we’ll go to the zoning board and see if we can get them and adjust from there,” Mr. Gilmartin said. “We’ll work through the process.”