Common Ground East Adds Little Charli Pizzeria to Menu

After a successful first summer, Common Ground East has planted its roots in East Hampton, adding a new twist to its vibrant nightlife with the addition of Little Charli East Hampton, an authentic Italian pizzeria.

Little Charli is equipped with a wood-burning oven imported from Italy and run by a chef from Rome. The menu offers three different pizza options, pasta dishes, main courses such as veal chop Milanese, and some salads. The affordability of Little Charli also sets it apart in the Hamptons dining scene. A pizza pie, meant to be shared by two people, is $30.

“The price points are relatively affordable. For the Hamptons, I would even consider them extremely affordable,” owner Frank Cilione said. “If you wanna come in here and have a great meal and not spend a lot of money, this is the spot.”

The restaurant stays open until 4 a.m. on weekends for people to come to after they finish their night at the club.

“We saw a couple of people come in, have dinner, go into the club for a couple of hours and then grab some pizza to take home with them,” Cilione said. “We had a full restaurant at 3 a.m.”

In addition to serving food, Little Charli will also offer pizza-making classes starting mid-June.

“These classes have been popular in the city, and we think families and kids here will love them too,” Cilione said.

Little Charli will be open all year to accommodate the local community.

“There are a lot of people that live out here year-round now, and the pizza speaks for itself,” Cilione said. “I am a pizza snob and I’ve been to every place out here, and some are decent, but this pizza is just a whole different level.”

The Common Ground brand was created by Chris Reda. It started in New York City, then opened a location in Montauk a couple of years ago. When that location closed, they brought it to East Hampton. Cilione has owned the nightclub restaurant location for 26 years, and it has held many different concepts over the years.

“Out here Common Ground has a name, and that is why I wanted to do this deal with Chris,” Cilione said. “I knew that this would be a win-win, and sure enough, since the first day we opened last summer, it’s been packed. This year, coming in, we had momentum from that, plus now adding the restaurant, it gels together.”

Known for its tagline, “Common Ground for Common People,” Common Ground East prides itself on a less restrictive admittance policy. The typical demographic is 23- to 33-year-olds who have graduated college and are looking for fun, Reda said.

“We just wanted to do a brand that was relevant to people getting out of college and give them a light and airy feel to nightlife, not making it as strict as it was, kind of a place for common people,” Reda said.

Common Ground East is an extension of the Common Ground brand. Reda said he expects people will spend a weekend at Common Ground East and, when they return to the city, go to Common Ground Bar in Manhattan.

“We are not trying to gouge the customer,” Reda said. “The customer is going out east, and they are there for the weekend, but we are trying to get them in the city 52 weeks a year. To us, it’s an extension. It’s not a popup, it’s a brand extension.”

Common Ground East is located at 44 Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. It can be reached at 917-972-9421.