Southampton Publick House To Take Over Drivers Seat

The Southampton Publick House will be taking over the Drivers Seat restaurant on Jobs Lane in Southampton Village, and could be open at the new site within the next week.

The Publick House, a restaurant and on-site brewery, closed its doors at its location at 40 Bowden Square this past Sunday night, after 20 years in business there.

Publick House owner Don Sullivan said on Tuesday that the business on Jobs Lane will remain a full-service restaurant and bar. The equipment to brew his award-winning beer will stay at the Bowden Square building for now, and he will continue to produce beer for the new restaurant at the old site, at least for the time being. He has said his long-term goal for the business is to expand its brewery operation at a new location—but not at the Jobs Lane destination.

“We’ve gotten a nice relationship with the incoming group. It’s a pretty nice cooperative effort,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We will be open as soon as possible, which could be as soon as a couple of days.

“We’ve received all of our county and local approvals—we’re not going to do any major physical changes. It will be a full-service restaurant and bar tavern. I’m not looking to change the nature of it,” he added.

The Drivers Seat has been a fixture on Jobs Lane for decades. For the last 10 years it has been owned by Irma Herzog, who purchased the building and famous restaurant from its longtime operators, John Barnhill and Doug Murtha.

The restaurant issued a statement on Monday announcing that it would be leasing its property at 62 Jobs Lane to the Publick House. According to the statement, signed by Ms. Herzog on behalf of “the Drivers Seat team,” the new lease means “the end of one era” for the 55-year-old restaurant, “and the continuation of another.”

“We are thrilled to afford the team at Southampton Publick House the opportunity to continue their younger 20-year tradition of serving the village community,” it read, adding, “We wish to thank the village and all of our patrons for decades of your faithful business. We thank the scores of people who have worked at the Drivers Seat over the past 55 years. For many, it was a first job, and for others it was a chance to let their experience and professionalism shine. Without each of you, the restaurant would not have been the same.”

It is still not known for certain what will be replacing the Publick House. Plans currently on file with the Southampton Village Building Department indicate that a company called Bowden Square LLC is seeking a permit to paint the building’s exterior a light gray with white trim. That agency was also before the Southampton Village Historic Preservation and Architectural Review Board on Monday night to replace an awning at the property.

According to a letter included in the application’s folder, Bowden Square LLC, as of March 25, was negotiating a lease with the property’s owner, now named PMA Southampton LLC. Bowden Square LLC is represented on the application by Ian Duke, co-owner of the Southampton Social Club.

Over the last few weeks he has declined to comment on community speculation that he would be next to occupy the Bowden Square space, saying, “Rumors are rumors and often very little more.”

The Publick House’s former home was sold in October to the Woodbury-based DiNoto Group. At the time, Mr. Sullivan said he had considered buying the property himself, but that the asking price was “unrealistic” for him. He had explained that if he could not work out a long-term lease with the new owner, he would be willing to move the business elsewhere.

On Tuesday, he said he was happy the situation worked out. “While we’ve had some challenges for sure, it’s very exciting to know that we can kind of reinvent it and start another 20-year run,” Mr. Sullivan said.