Duria, Montauk's, known for its $100 lobster cob salad, is facing the possibility of a closure this summer due to a dispute over the cleanup system with the town of East Hampton.
The restaurant owned by Apollo CEO Mark Rowan says the town is forcing an upgrade to the water system, but it denies the permission required to make changes, according to legal filings. Duryea's (under the company Sunrise Tuthill, owned by Rowan) claims the town is “interfering” in public declarations that require judges to intervene in the situation.
This is the latest Snafu in a legal battle over permit that began in 2018, years after Rowan bought the restaurant. It is also the latest move in a series of punitive actions the town has taken against restaurants and residents, sources told Nynext.
Last year alone, the town passed legislation that curtailed the construction of a new 10,000-square-foot home and thwarted efforts by Scott Saltiano, founder of Zero Bonds to launch restaurants at Hedges Inn.
Saltiano has been fined all for artificial flowers that he claims to be flammable to noisy parking lots.
In recent years, the town has chased East Hampton Airport and restricted helicopter flights. It claims to be a noisy and popular club surf lodge.
“It makes the town of 'Footloose' look like Vegas,” one resident said.
“This is a town where the taxable base is driven by a second homeowner and part-time visitors,” another angry resident told me. “And they keep biting their hands that feed them.”
Residents complain that local politicians who have seen the costs of living in the East over the past decades have had x to crush alongside wealthy residents as rich New Yorkers increase prices. And the fact that Duryea's is popular with Instagram crowds and owned by billionaires makes it a major target.
Regardless of the outcome of Montauk, lobster salad enthusiasts can get a Duriea modification. They may need to quickly board a boat to a restaurant location in Orient Point.
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