Kelly and John Piccinnini, the new co-owners and sole operators of 1 Main Street in Sag Harbor — more familiarly known as the Corner Bar — spoke this week about the future of the community staple and meeting place.
The couple are relative newcomers to the restaurant world, having owned and operated The Clam Bar on Napeague for just a few seasons, since 2023. He is a lawyer; she has a background in media sales. They have two young sons, who attend John Marshall Elementary School in East Hampton.
They were approached by and ultimately partnered with David Shorenstein and Jason Breitstone, principals of Manhattan-based Hildreth Real Estate Advisors, to buy the building. (The sale is a relative drop in the bucket for HREA, which boasts transfers of “over two million square feet of total real estate” on its website.)
As the face of the new operation, the Piccinninis have taken a lot of heat and will take more if they mess too much with one of the last beloved local places in the village, which has seen rapid change in recent years.
Perhaps the harshest criticism they’ve faced has come from interactions with the staff. In November, the couple let Jenny Doud and Joey Weeks, longtime bartenders and managers, know that they wouldn’t be working for the new bar.
“We said we would not retain current management,” said Mr. Piccinnini. “We want to bring in our team, and we gave them plenty of time. We didn’t want to drag anyone along.” They are open to speaking with other staff members, he said, but understand that many will have to look for other jobs [when] the bar closes for a multi-month renovation.
Offers of employment have been made to two former employees, Mr. Piccinnini said this week, and meetings with two of the longest-serving bartenders are scheduled. Whether the two employees have accepted their offers is not clear.
“As the new owners, we have the right to bring in who we want. We like to operate in a certain way; there has to be a little change,” Mr. Piccinnini said.
“We navigated a difficult situation with Clam Bar,” said his wife. “We were met with challenges that we didn’t anticipate, but we learned quickly. Those lessons have taught us to put our people in leadership roles.”
“There’s a beautiful legacy to the bar, but we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’re purchasing it as a business,” she added.
Besides the staffing changes, there will be interior renovations, some of which will be obvious. The ceiling will be raised a few feet, letting more light into the restaurant and bar. A curb under the bar (which will not change, other than to be polished) will be removed to allow stools to be pushed closer and provide more space between them and a half-wall partition, which, depending on perspective, created either a tight or cozy space.
“We removed the etched glass [which they gave to Jimmy Smyth’s widow, Margaret], and are knocking the wall down to meet the height of the bar,” said Ms. Piccinnini. A drink railing on the bar side of the partition, with room for an appetizer plate, will create a new place to sit.
The partition is being redesigned to allow it to be opened, once dinner service is finished, to improve the flow from the bar into the dining area. “You won’t be as discouraged to walk up to the bar,” Mr. Piccinnini explained, “and it will be easier to walk to the bathroom.”
The long banquette along the base of the brick wall, made famous by generations of children who wrote their names on its bricks, will be updated. As for the brick wall? It’s not clear. “We are not going to remove the brick, said Ms. Piccinnini. “We have a vision of whitewashing it or giving it an additional treatment. What happens with raw brick, as a patron, if you’re sitting on that side, it’s a little rough.”
Rumors that the building will get a second story are untrue, said the new owners, who will, however, be making many changes to the kitchen and basement — the parts of the building that patrons never see — to improve workflow and to meet Suffolk County Health Department regulations. They expect the renovations to take months, and cannot predict when the bar will reopen.
“Our hands are tied. We don’t control the renovation timeline,” said Ms. Piccinnini. “We would love to be open to kick off the season, but we need time to do a soft opening before we welcome a full summer crowd.”
If they can’t open by mid-May and work out the kinks before Memorial Day, she said, they will likely wait until closer to the next big summer weekend, July Fourth. “As far as food goes, it will be the aesthetic of the local tavern menu, with coastal inspiration. A good burger, a good sandwich, fish and chips.”
“It’s a pub menu,” said Mr. Piccinnini. “It will be well rounded, with seafood sprinkled in. I want to reiterate; this will not be a new version of the Clam Bar. We want to be able to take our kids to this restaurant. Right now, there’s not many places as a family to go without getting banged over the head. We’re conscious of that. There will be something for everyone.”
“It’s not lost on us how important this establishment is for the community,” he added. “We’re really trying our hardest to make everyone happy and putting thought into really making everyone feel like this is home.”
“We hope people will give us the time and space to allow us to do this and take this responsibility on,” said Ms. Piccinnini. “We didn’t decide to jump into this because we wanted to be the bulls-eye for the community. We have a passion and energy for the restaurant, and are excited to get to go through this modernization of a local institution.”