Southampton Town to pay $380G to settle lawsuit by former Hampton Bays diner owners
The Southampton Town Board has voted to settle a lawsuit with the owners of the now-closed Hampton Bays Diner, seen here in 2015. Credit: John Roca
Southampton Town will pay $380,000 to settle a 14-year-old lawsuit brought by former Hampton Bays diner owners who claimed the town discriminated against them for catering to a Hispanic clientele.
Frank and Maria Vlahadamis, the husband and wife co-owners of the now-closed Hampton Bays Diner, filed the $25 million suit against Southampton Town in 2008, alleging the town began a campaign of harassment after they started hosting “Hispanic nights” at the diner around 2007.
According to the agreement filed in U.S. Eastern District Court Monday, the town admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to settle “solely for the purpose of resolving this lawsuit.”
The town board voted 5-0 during its April 12 meeting to approve the agreement. The town will pay a $100,000 insurance deductible to pay for the settlement, Town Attorney James Burke said Tuesday.
Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, who was not in town office when the suit was filed, had no comment on the settlement.
The diner once a week hosted a “Hispanic night” featuring a DJ playing “Hispanic-oriented music” and food to attract Hispanic customers, according to the lawsuit.
The Vlahadamises alleged the town conducted a series of raids by its police department, code enforcement department and fire marshal’s office, and through selective code enforcement, tried to shut them down. They said other establishments in town that hosted similar entertainment, although not aimed at Latino customers, did not suffer similar treatment.
The couple stopped hosting Hispanic nights, which they said caused them to lose $20,000 per week.
A special prosecutor hired to look into code violations issued against the Vlahadamises denied the town targeted the couple and said similar establishments also were cited at the time.
The eatery was also the scene of occasional violence. A Riverhead man was stabbed to death by a childhood friend there in 2009. Jermaine Holmes was later sentenced to 20 years for the death of Calvin Butts.
The Vlahadamises filed for bankruptcy and closed the diner in 2015 after 30 years of business.
Frank Vlahadamis had no comment on the settlement when reached Tuesday. His attorney Andrew Campanelli of Garden City also declined to comment.
Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.
