Judge orders Montauk hotel to shut restaurant, bar

A Montauk hotel is temporarily barred from operating a restaurant and bar on its property following a judge’s order in the ongoing legal case brought by East Hampton Town, the town said in a news release.

The Aug. 24 ruling signed by state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Emerson bars Marram from using outdoor grills or locations other than the resort’s existing retail kitchen to cook or prepare any food intended for public sale without obtaining the proper permits. The case is due back in court Oct. 5.

A Marram representative said Wednesday that the town news release mischaracterizes the restraining order and that the hotel’s cafe, Il Buco at Mostrator Marram, remains open.

“The court order, which we agreed to in advance, only addresses activities that the hotel was not engaged in: cooking in areas outside the existing kitchen and serving food or alcoholic beverages to guests seated at tables on the hotel’s property and the beach,” said Jeffrey Haroldson, CEO of Bridgeton Holdings, the real estate investment firm that owns Marram.

The town filed a complaint against the Marram hotel on Aug. 7 in state Supreme Court in Riverhead and is seeking a permanent injunction barring the hotel, which bills itself as a “barefoot luxury boutique resort” on its website, from operating a full-service restaurant. East Hampton officials have said that the hotel converted from a motel use to a restaurant and bar in violation of town code.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese 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.