Southampton Publick House reopens after paying some of $111G debt
Southampton Publick House located at 62 Jobs Lane in Southampton Village on Thursday, July 13, 2017. Credit: James Carbone
Southampton Publick House, a popular Southampton Village restaurant that was seized last week by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, has reopened after paying back part of the $111,000 tax debt.
Donald Sullivan, CEO of the business that is also known as McSully Enterprises Inc., said the restaurant finished paying the outstanding debt on Friday, allowing him to retrieve the keys to the business and open the doors in time for the dinner rush.
“We had a lot of support from customers and friends,” Sullivan said. “And hopefully the worst is behind us.”
The state shuttered the business Wednesday because the restaurant owed $111,744.69 in taxes between March 2016 and May 2017, said James Gazzale, a spokesman for the taxation and finance department.
But Gazzale said the business still has a warranted tax balance of $101,917.41.
Sullivan and Gazzale both declined to comment on the discrepancy, with Gazzale citing that payment information is confidential to the taxpayer.
Sullivan said earlier Monday that the business took on tax debt because of “some significant challenges over the past year,” including moving locations from 40 Bowden Sq. — where the restaurant operated for 20 years — to 62 Jobs Lane in April 2016.
Sullivan also said that after a “long winter,” access to the business was hindered for about three weeks in April by village construction surrounding the restaurant.
“It was difficult to catch up,” Sullivan said.
Paul Murphy, the village’s highway supervisor, said the village replaced an entrance ramp in the municipal parking lot behind the restaurant and repaired sidewalks on Jobs Lane and two adjacent streets.
“It was only inconvenient for about five days,” Murphy said of the construction.
Rachelle Blidner covers Suffolk County government, politics and breaking news.
