| Issue #33, November 10, 2006 |
Gosman’s For Sale
Landmark Waterfront Complex in Montauk is Yours for $55M
By David Lion Rattiner
There is an 11-acre waterfront compound in Montauk that is just as synonymous with the word Montauk as fishing is. Gosman’s has been a part of the Montauk community since 1943 and tourists from all over the world stroll around the complex, enjoying some ice-cream, buying a t-shirt or two and making a dinner reservation at the waterfront restaurant.
The Gosman family runs the joint, as everybody in Montauk knows. The business has stayed in the family since Mary and Robert Gosman first bought the place, using money they had saved as former fish packers and as agents for Fulton Market more the half a century ago. Originally it was a one room clam bar.
So it came as quite a shock to Montauk, the Town of East Hampton and even Manhattanites when they learned that the entire complex of Gosman’s is on the real estate market. The asking price is $55 million.
You may remember the rumor last summer that somebody made an offer on the property and it was being considered by the Gosmans. Everyone around town was talking about it. You’d be having a cup of coffee at the Montauk Bake Shoppe and hear somebody say, “Hey Joe, did you hear about Gosman’s? Somebody made an offer to buy it. I don’t know who, but I heard it was pretty big.”
And then Joe would say, “It doesn’t matter how much they offer. The Gosmans will never sell.”
And that is what happened. It was, however, surprising to some that the price was a number that made the Gosmans even notice something.
Now it is official, Gosman’s is on the market. And although there are no offers, none that we know of anyway, the asking price of $55 million pretty much ensures that it is going to be a long sales process. That is just fine for anybody that likes to head out to Montauk from time to time.
This is not the only enormous piece of property for sale in Montauk. There is also the Eotheon Estate, where Andy Warhol and the Rolling Stones used to stay, on the market now for $40 million, recently reduced from $50 million. Then of course there was the recent sale of the Shepherds Neck Inn, a hotel complex in Montauk that went for $11 million and Deep Hollow Ranch, which has also been on the market for $17 million.
While the property of Gosman’s is intensely beautiful and from a physical perspective worth every penny, it is the story of the American dream that makes it so attractive to so many. The fact that the family has been there for so long and the hard work, literally the blood, sweat and tears that was put into the complex and can be noticed by the hand- painted signs, probably painted by a Gosman, makes it so special. They made it into something that corporate America would be jealous of, but didn’t take the corporate dollars to build. Gosman’s was built by the Gosmans, not from a blue-chip. And that is going to be the part that will be missed most.
East Hampton Town Supervisor William McGintee reportedly said, “It would be a shame to see it go,” which pretty much sums up what people are feeling about the news.
On the other hand however, everything changes, and building a business from a little lobster sales shack into a world renowned resort location deserves reward. The family deserves what they get for it because they are quite a family.
The Gosmans may not like the spotlight very much, but they do a lot in Montauk and it is all done in this sort of quiet way. Gosman’s is one of the largest employers of Montauk and supports just about every local cause that Montauk has, and Montauk has quite a lot. They have a reputation for being a humble, community-oriented family, and the impact that they have made on the Montauk economy and community is huge.
There is also no need to worry, Gosman’s isn’t gone yet, and this summer they plan on staying open and running the family business just like they have always done for three generations. The dock, the fish market, the four restaurants, five retail stores and two motels will all be up and running beginning April 27, and it would make sense, when somebody does buy it, to keep it similar to the way it is now.
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