Southampton Business Owner Binh Douglas Doing It All with Main Prospect, Beachampton, Rickshaw Cold Brew & More

For many, the term “small business owner” conjures up the image of a local mom or pop operating one quaint storefront or basic service, but that image doesn’t begin to cover all the East End entrepreneurial endeavors that Binh Douglas has cooking.

Douglas’ crown jewel is Main Prospect in his hometown of Southampton. Opened for its first summer last year, the large restaurant boasts a capacity of more than 200 across its unique interior spaces — including the dining room, bar and arcade on the ground floor, and the karaoke room, speakeasy and members-only cigar lounge upstairs — as well as the outdoor dining garden, which includes firepits, Jumbo Jenga, Giant Connect Four and cornhole.

An outdoor bar will be the next addition to the space.

“The size and scope of it has really allowed us to play with our imaginations,” he says, adding that they’ve made space for local artist exhibitions upstairs. “At the heart of it all is hospitality, catering to our locals who are the backbone in this community.”

Wanting to capture the vibe of old Southampton with new-age flavor, Douglas invites diners to relax and enjoy with no 90-minute time limit looming over them.

“We make our money in the experience, because people are sticking around longer. They’ll have that extra glass of wine, Champagne or beer, or maybe they’re going to sit around and then have a coffee (after they) digest … It’s a place to hang out and be entertained and forget about everything else that’s going on,” Douglas says.

“This is my 32nd bar/restaurant in a club that I’ve opened for myself, and each place that I’ve operated has been an amalgam of what’s going on in my life,” he continues. “Now that I have children, I’m like, ‘Man, how can I entertain my kids?’”

The arcade by the bar in the lobby was the answer. It may just be the pinnacle of his “elevated casual” concept, allowing parents to sip in peace while their children and/or spouses play in the next room.

The Main Prospect menus comprise traditional American dishes with international flare. Menu staples include the Main Prospect Prime Burger, Wagyu dumplings, Cajun corn empanadas, tempura shishito peppers, tuna poke tacos, Fancy Smancy Eggs Benedict, crème-brûlée-stuffed French toast, sauteed zucchini bowl and duck fat home fries. With the warm weather came a wave of new seafood options, including a raw bar, classic seafood towers and the Tower of Grandeur, which includes 12 local oysters, 12 clams, 12 jumbo shrimp, lobster tails, tuna dip and caviar.

Douglas has introduced a number of exciting weekly happenings to the Main Prospect schedule, leaving few business-as-usual days. Weary workers can enjoy happy hour deals every Wednesday through Saturday, 4–7 p.m. Friday doubles as Trivia Night from 7–9 p.m., and Saturday night, 6–9 p.m., is reserved for the sounds of smooth jazz. A Sunday brunch special is offered from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. each week, and beginning in September and continuing through the off-season, Sunday afternoons will showcase reggae bands such as Rum Punch Mafia.

Perhaps the most enticing event each week, Wednesday is Comedy Night, presented in partnership with the West Side Comedy Club, with doors opening at 4 p.m., and the show starting at 8 p.m.

The series features a rotating roster of comedians and hosts including Bill McCuddy, Brian Scott McFadden, Adam Muller, Kasia Klimiuk, Anita Boyer, Nory Vincent, Erin Maguire, Rachel Green, Joe Devito, Matt Ruby, Felicia Madison, Rich Aronovitch, Jackie Fabulous and others, so every week promises a new experience. Lucky Comedy Night attendees may even see Douglas open with a short set inspired by his time as a Los Angeles comic and his upbringing in the Shinnecock Nation.

Though his standup career ended prematurely when he moved back to New York to be with his cancer-stricken father, it was a dying man’s wish that set him on the entrepreneurial path he’s found success in. At his father’s request to collaborate on a business with his brother, Douglas moved to Florida to open a nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and there he discovered a passion that carried him for the next three decades.

“I knew that I really enjoyed the business. I enjoyed hospitality. I enjoyed entertaining people, so I decided to immerse myself,” he says, adding that the packed Main Prospect schedule is a testament to that love of entertaining. “I know it sounds like a lot, and, in fact, it is a lot … but at the end of the day, I take pride in the fact, feel good about the fact, that we’re providing some cool stuff for a pretty cool village that I grew up in.”

Douglas’ hospitality extends beyond the walls of Main Prospect. Expanding on the private events hosted at the restaurant, he recently introduced an online catering service to help East Enders host their own parties. Main Prospect’s catering made its public debut at the 2023 Hamptons Fine Art Fair, July 13–16, and there are more catered Southampton events on the schedule.

Beachampton

His most unique hospitality venture to date is likely Beachampton, the online beach concierge service. After five fruitful seasons of working the Coopers Beach concession stand with his wife, Lauren Mallor, Douglas had seen one too many summer days ruined by a forgotten umbrella or a not-so-cool cooler. After losing the bid to return to the stand this past year, due to an “exorbitant” high bid, he took his beachside observations and devised a solution.

Partnering with Main Prospect Manager Dylan Gaches, Douglas launched Beachampton to provide Hamptons visitors with a luxury, hassle-free beach experience at Coopers, Flying Point, Gin, Halsey Neck and Little Plains beaches, or select other beaches if special accommodations are requested.

The four packages available — named after Gaches’ niece and Douglas’ two sons and niece — are the Vienna solo trip, Zara couple’s experience, Nolan party for four and the high-end Henri setup for six. The various five-hour packages include such items as beach chairs and tables, beach blankets, pillows, towels, umbrellas, sunscreen, Bluetooth speakers, setup/cleanup, parking and WeMoke shuttle from Main Prospect, plus 15% off at the restaurant.

A wide array of additional upgrades is available, such as a personal certified lifeguard, cabana or tent, paddle- or surfboard, ice-filled Yeti cooler and games. Beachside wine, beer, water or lunch from Main Prospect can also be arranged.

“Beachampton is a great model for us, because the hardware is purchased. The only thing that we’d have to do is purchase more gear for more setups, which is a Champagne problem,” Douglas says, noting, too, how symbiotic Main Prospect and Beachampton are, with the restaurant providing an ideal base for the concierge service, and the latter serving as an enticing prize for Main Prospect raffles and Trivia Night victories.

Also birthed from the love and loss of the Coopers Beach concession stand, is Flying Point Beach’s resident food truck, founded by Douglas and Main Prospect Chef John Trzcinski, and the Vietnamese-inspired Rickshaw Cold Brew, spearheaded by Lauren Mallor and her friend Liz Ott with guidance from Douglas’ Vietnamese mother, Gabby. “We’re having fun doing these different types of businesses,” Douglas says. “I’m happy to see that locals really support us and are helping us to spread the word. We couldn’t be more thankful for it.”

Main Prospect is located at 15 Prospect Street, Southampton. For more info, call 631-353-3156 or visit mainprospectsh.com. For details about Beachampton, visit beachampton.net, or about Rickshaw Cold Brew, visit rickshawcoldbrew.com.

–PARTNER CONTENT