In some ways, Gosman’s Dock, one of Montauk’s few remaining family-owned and operated businesses until its October 2024 sale, closely resembles the complex of restaurants and shops long revered by locals and visitors alike. In other ways, though, it is markedly different under its new ownership.
The complex was purchased by Stephen Deckoff, a billionaire investor and founder of the private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, for an undisclosed sum.
The main restaurant is now run by the Bagatelle Group, which operates 15 venues, including in St. Tropez, France; St. Barthelemy, in the French West Indies; Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates; Miami’s South Beach; London, and Athens. At Bagatelle Gosman’s Montauk (“where the bohemian energy of the Hamptons meets the elegance of Mediterranean cuisine inspired by the sea”), the menu will be unfamiliar to diners at the old Gosman’s. In French and English, its offerings include the grilled catch of the day, priced at $135, a three-pound lobster for $255, and a seafood platter, at $115 for the small option (four oysters, four clams, four shrimp, and a 1.5-pound lobster) or $250 for the large one (eight oysters, eight clams, eight shrimp, and a three-pound lobster). Caviar is priced between $290 and $1,250.
Its planned opening on Memorial Day weekend was delayed, the new operators having yet to obtain a license from the New York State Liquor Authority. That license has since been secured, and Bagatelle Gosman’s Montauk serves lunch and dinner six days per week. A D.J. booth stands on the lower deck, and the Bagatelle Group’s social media emphasizes music and dancing as well as dining.
The Topside, Inlet Cafe, and Clam Bar restaurants, all operating from a standalone building, also opened behind schedule. A planned opening on the weekend of Mother’s Day was postponed to May 23, its kitchen staff spending the first weeks painting and doing other tasks. The establishments also opened without a liquor license, which was secured on June 4, and began serving alcoholic drinks on Friday. The restaurants, while technically under Bagatelle Group management, are largely unchanged from past seasons, with many of the same front-of-house and kitchen staff.
The retail and wholesale fish markets also continue as they had previously, with a staff that is largely unchanged but with members of the Gosman family now employees rather than owners.
All but one of the complex’s five retail buildings stand empty. The Kai-Kai Sandal boutique remains and is open. The harbormaster’s house, the round house built by Carl Fisher in 1928 that for decades housed the Summer Stock clothing store, is vacant; that shop has moved into an adjacent space within the building housing Kai-Kai Sandal.
Mary Gosman, who emigrated from Ireland in 1927 and with her husband, Robert Gosman, founded Gosman’s Dock in 1943, tended flowerbeds throughout the complex until her death in 1997. Like the shops, these too show signs of neglect, contributing to a listless atmosphere on the 11.5-acre complex in a season that so far has been characterized by overcast skies and rain.
There was no reply to an email to Bagatelle Group and its public relations firm last week seeking information.
One area that saw activity early in the season was a section of dock and adjacent bottomland. There, the East Hampton Town building inspector “observed active work that appeared to involve replacing pilings and decking” during a May 14 inspection, according to the town’s public information officer. “A crane on a barge was also present,” he said, “and sand from the bottom was being brought up and relocated into nearby town waterways, indicating dredging activity.”
The work, to accommodate Mr. Deckoff’s boat, Pescador, was being conducted without required approvals, including a town building permit, a natural resources special permit from the Planning Department, and permits from the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the federal Army Corps of Engineers. “A stop-work order was issued based on these violations,” the public information officer said.