Sale of Gators, a Hampton Bays Fixture, Is Pending

After 35 years, Gators restaurant, a fixture in downtown Hampton Bays, closed its doors just after Labor Day.

With a rapid sale of the building pending, owner Richard Gise said he is looking forward to a retirement spiced with fishing and travel.

And why not? At 61, he’s been in the business since he was 12 years old washing dishes at the Deck Restaurant on Dune Road, an eatery owned by his father, James Gise, and uncle, Richie Gise. Originally from Miller Place, Gise spent summers in Hampton Bays after his family bought the restaurant, that’s now Sundays by the Bay, in 1969.

“I stayed in the restaurant business even through college,” Gise said.

He started cooking at just 14, and made his bones in the kitchen up-island, serving as a chef in a variety of places, including some offering Italian and French cuisine, as well as covering the management side of the industry.

Managing the Ground Round in Port Jefferson, he met Diane, who’d become his wife and partner. They married in Hampton Bays in 1993. Now nurses, their daughters, Casey and Taylor, followed in their dad’s — and mom’s — footsteps, working in the restaurant business during summer breaks from school.

In 1987, he leased the building once home to MacArthur Park and came up with the name “Gators.”

“When I bought MacArthur’s Park, it was basically an old man’s bar,” Gise said. He wanted to appeal to a younger clientele, so he looked for “something fun, and, sure enough, it worked.” He purchased the 1910 building in 1993.

He recalled the early years as a “wild time” in Hampton Bays, with lines of young, sometimes drunk, sharehouse dwellers wrapping around the block.

“We had to have a bouncer at the front door on Sundays after the Boardy Barn closed,” he remembered. Parties of 15 and 20 people would show up looking for tables. “We used to have to turn them away,” he said. “The tiny dining room couldn’t accommodate them.”

Now a resident of Shinnecock Hills, Gise noted that the restaurant morphed into a lively spot for young people as its popularity grew. When the town began shutting down the clubs and sharehouses, Gise said, it “totally changed our landscape.”

And he said, back then the average age of his patrons was around 24. As time went on, “Those 24-year-olds became 60-year-olds, and that became my main clientele by the time I closed this year.”

While most residents lauded the town’s move to curtail party houses and unruly nightclubs during that time, it meant business at Gators diminished.

The post 9/11 world also seemed to see a shift in culture. “America’s mood changed, “ Gise said. “It was our first big slowdown.”

Then came COVID, and the shutdown, and myriad visits from the State Liquor Authority. “COVID was a wild time, with the SLA coming in on a weekly basis,” he said. “They went to everybody.”

Like many business owners, Gise tried to keep up with ever-changing rules and “guidance” from the state. “One day they were telling us we were closed,” he said, “the next day they were telling us we could do 50 percent, then 30 percent. It was the most insane time I went through.”

Since then, Gise said, “It’s been very, very hard to make a dollar.” Supplies and food costs skyrocketed, and the labor shortage that’s burdened businesses across the nation meant that he was “working a lot harder and not making money.”

The time felt ripe for retirement. “I just thought it was the right time,” he said.

Gise put a “For Sale” sign on the building around the first week of August and soon connected with a buyer. “I never even listed the place,” he marveled. He declined to name the potential purchaser, as the closing has yet to occur. “It’s not definite yet,” he said, “but it’s pending.”

The building was constructed in 1910 by Bert Ashton for his plumbing and heating business, according to the Southampton Town Heritage report. By 1926, there were a grocery and tailor shop at the location, as well as a dwelling.

Later, Ralston’s grocery store occupied the space, then Smith’s antique business and subsequently, Smith’s Plumbing store. Due to the building’s unique architectural features, including a curved second story, the town’s heritage report listed it as deserving of more study.

A self-described avid fishermen, Gise is looking forward to getting his captain’s license and maybe starting a charter or whale watching business. He wants to travel, too.

Looking back on the “wild” times and times of struggle, Gise said that, overall, he’s grateful to the people of Hampton Bays for 35 years of support. “We will truly miss everyone and love all our Gators customers,” he said.

For now, the building is still as it was when it closed after Labor Day, tables still set for diners. Gise won’t move equipment and accoutrement out until the sale is finalized.