A Conversation With Ryunosuke Jesse Matsuoka

Q: How did you originally become involved with The Sag Harbor Cinema and The Green Room?

My involvement started originally with the fire. On the day of the fire, I received a call from my staff at Sen saying that there was a fire at the cinema. Everyone was there — police, fireman. I remember how cold it was.

I ran into town, and automatically my thoughts were: “I have to take care of the first responders.” I heated up our miso soup and brought it out to the first responders. It was so cold the water that was hitting the building and coming back spraying them turned into icicles on their helmets, their beards. It was a scary moment for everyone.

Q: What happened after the fire was put out? 

It happened first thing in the morning. No one was really open, and it was right before Christmas. My first thought was that our beloved cinema had just burned down and I wanted to know how I could help.

I started hearing about a group coming together to purchase the property and make it into a nonprofit and rebuild and rejuvenate the cinema. I asked around if there was any way I could help or participate. It landed me on the Board of Advisors for the rebuilding of the cinema [led by the Sag Harbor Partnership]. 

Q: Once you were on the board of advisors, how did you know which direction to go in for the food and beverage aspect?

We had a couple of different ideas how this new cinema could be. My expertise was on the food and beverage side, so I helped to advise on that and worked with the architect on how to design the entrance lobby, which would be a cafe and concession. I went out and did research and development at other cinemas through Manhattan that were known for beautiful concessions and great lobbies.

What did the cinema lobby look like before?

The lobby entrance was tight before. There was the ticket window, but the entrance actually was shared with the gallery next door. That made it a tight entrance and a narrow, dark lobby. 

Whose idea was it to add the bar and outdoor terraces?

In doing our research, we found that the cinemas and theaters doing well incorporated a bar and event space. That’s when the decision to create the third-floor space as an event space happened.

The original layout had the office on the third floor with the 180 degrees of windows looking onto the beautiful back of Sag Harbor and water views. We all thought that’s an amazing office view, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a bar or space to offer our customers?

What do you enjoy most about The Green Room and working with the cinema?

The sunset is amazing. The overall feeling is that this is such a great offering that the Sag Harbor Cinema can provide. I had a fun time being able to work with the entire team.

We live in such a special place. The Board of Advisors were amazing people. We had a great group of minds that came together and were passionate about the theater being rejuvenated. It was a beautiful thing for me to be a part of. I had put in a bid to help operate The Green Room, which I was awarded.

Are you from Sag Harbor?

I am Japanese. I was born in Manhattan and raised in Tokyo. My father is Japanese, and my mother is American, from New York. She ended up in Bridgehampton in the 1970s.

I went to middle school and high school in Hawaii. For summer vacation, I would come out and work at Sen, which my father started with Jeff [Salaway] in 1994. I’ve been coming and working out here since I was 12. I moved here full time at 17, over 20 years ago. I live in Sag Harbor.

Will weekly events continue through the summer?

My direction working with Deborah [Lee] is pricing things out in The Green Room to have some of the best prices available in the Hamptons. That’s the whole thing with the cinema as well: approachable pricing so it is meant for everyone.

We’ll continue to have a beverage menu that keeps up with the current times — a great cocktail program, wonderful local beer and wine offerings. We’ll be incorporating fun weekly events: open mic night, live music, karaoke, close-up magic — it is so cool. I love the skepticism everyone walks in with, and then they’re blown away by Grandpa Magic [magician Allan Kronzek]. Adding that layer of fun, that’s what we want.

The two terraces are a great way to relax in the summertime especially, the views of the water, the sunset. We’re having fun with it.

What movie-themed events have you hosted in The Green Room?

This past summer we hosted “Barbie.” We designed a Barbie theme menu, and the whole third floor was Barbie themed. I personally dressed up as Ken. We had dollhouses and Barbie cars. The pigs in a blanket had pink pretzels. Everything was pink — pink milkshakes, pink sushi, all kinds of pink food.

We get to have fun with these things because the world of film allows us to express a wide demographic of styles and topics. It’s fun.

I’ll be here as long as the theater will have me.