By: Don Driggers

Two of Montauk’s most popular restaurants are back on the market, this time at steeply reduced prices, as the COVID-era Hamptons boom shows signs of slowing, The NY Post first reported. Sel Rrose, an upscale oyster bar just a block from the ocean, has cut its price to $4.35 million from $6.29 million last year, The NY Post first reported. Meanwhile, Tauk at Trail’s End, a nearly century-old local institution, trimmed its asking price to $3.99 million from $4.69 million, The NY Post first reported.

The decline in prices comes as East End restaurateurs struggle with “excessive” inspections from local agencies and the challenge of attracting summer visitors, many of whom are opting for cheaper flights to European destinations, The NY Post first reported. High rental prices in Montauk have also deterred all but the wealthiest vacationers, creating pressure on restaurant owners to adjust their valuations, The NY Post first reported.

Dylan Eckardt, a Montauk-born pro-surfer-turned-broker known as the “Prince of Montauk,” represents both listings and told The NY Post he is confident both restaurants will be sold by September. “Inventory is limited,” Eckardt said, noting these are the only two restaurants currently for sale. “Even if you have a house in Sag Harbor, you’re coming to Montauk at least once a week to surf, fish, or go out to party. We took a small town with a drinking problem and turned it into the St. Tropez of the East Coast,” he added, The NY Post first reported.

Local restaurateurs say challenges go beyond pricing. Many have clashed with East Hampton’s so-called noise police and claim they face excessive inspections from the State Liquor Authority and other regulatory bodies, The NY Post first reported. One unnamed hotelier told The NY Post, “It’s so frustrating. We stay compliant but at the end of the day you are either a pro-business town or you are not.”

The high cost of staying in Montauk has also driven away middle-class and upper-middle-class visitors, with rentals down roughly 30% this summer, The NY Post first reported. Even local marinas are feeling the pinch as longtime boaters and fishermen are priced out. “A lot of people aren’t coming at all with $1,000 a night hotel rooms and $5,000 bottle service. Montauk is only for the very rich now — and it backfired,” a real estate mogul told The NY Post.

Competition from Europe has also siphoned off vacationers. Visitors now prefer destinations such as St. Tropez, Ibiza, and Mykonos, where five-star accommodations and lower costs provide better value, The NY Post first reported. Juriël Zeligman, co-founder of Gospël in Manhattan and Ruschmeyers in Montauk, said, “People get more bang for the buck, plus five-star accommodations and a better quality of life than a $100,000 or $200,000 rental for the month of August,” The NY Post first reported.

Sel Rrose, named after Marcel Duchamp’s female alter ego, is a Montauk outpost of a Lower East Side hotspot. Owner Kristin Vincent, who has run the 79-seat restaurant for 25 years, said her decision to sell is personal and not due to regulatory pressures. “It’s time to move on and enjoy my life. I want to be the patron now,” she told The NY Post, adding she plans to spend more winters in Florida, The NY Post first reported.

Tauk at Trail’s End, with its iconic neon sign and accompanying five-bedroom home, remains a beloved local institution, The NY Post first reported. Both properties reflect the changing landscape of Hamptons hospitality as the post-pandemic surge tapers off, The NY Post first reported.