Rumors that a 7-Eleven will open at the site of a defunct restaurant on Montauk Highway in Amagansett surfaced at the East Hampton Town Board meeting last Thursday, February 3.
Rona Klopman and Elaine Jones, both residents of Amagansett, told the Town Board that they heard that the convenience store would open at the site of Villa Prince Ristorante, a restaurant that they said has been closed for years and is currently being renovated.
Richard Principi, the owner of the building, did not return multiple calls seeking information. Town Architectural Review Board Chairman Robert Schwagerl and Senior Building Inspector Tom Preiato also did not return calls.
Members of the Town Board said they had no knowledge of the project. “This is the first I’m hearing of it,” Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said.
The front of the building that was once Villa Prince Ristorante was covered in plastic last week, and the sound of power tools could be heard from inside. The building sits at 521 Montauk Highway, in the IGA shopping center.
Ms. Klopman said she spoke to workers at the site this week and one of them said the building was going to be a 7- Eleven. Ms. Jones said she heard the same thing from a friend who heard it from Mr. Principi.
If the rumor is true, it recalls a situation last summer, when a 7-Eleven opened on Main Street in Montauk and caused an uproar. Residents complained the town could have prevented the franchise from opening in their hamlet.
“Does the Town of East Hampton want two 7-Elevens in its domain?” Ms Klopman asked the Town Board.
During the Town Board meeting and a subsequent work session meeting on Thursday, Town Board members and Deputy Town Attorney John Jilnicki said the board had no power to stop 7-Elevens and other chains from opening in town.
“You’re actually not allowed to bar somebody because they happen to be a franchise operation,” Mr. Jilnicki said, after being asked about the town’s powers by Councilman Dominick Stanzione. “It’s fairly well-established in New York State.”
Permits from the Building Department and the Architectural Review Board for the former Villa Prince Ristorante site obtained by Ms. Klopman did not specify the company that would be moving into the building. Not naming a company on an application is commonplace, according to Mr. Jilnicki, because the town does not regulate that aspect of an application under the Town Code.
Betty Mazur, an Amagansett resident, said she was concerned about the challenges a 7-Eleven would pose to other businesses in her hamlet.
“I think this is a concern, to say nothing about the fact that Amagansett now is the only hamlet in greater East Hampton that does not have a chain store, and it’s a last holdout.”
Councilwoman Julia Prince said it may be time for the town to review which applications trigger site plan review by the Town Planning Board.
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EastEnd was just making a valid point. If you drive West in the AM, Southampton 7/11 is all dayworkers lining the area. Drive into Hampton Bays...the dayworkers are not at 7/11 , they are at Dunkin Donuts...drive into Riverhead, all dayworkers at 7/11. Head east toward Orient... each 7/11...lined with dayworkers. Drive over to Westhampton Beach 7/11, by the post office...lined with dayworkers. Like it or not Razz, it's a true statement...7 out of 10 times out here. And yes, largely ...more it has to do with where the bus stops are.
Why are you so pro undocumented immigrant? I do not hate the spanish. That said, if we have laws in this country...the laws should be upheld. Why sould we take in so many spanish? Bet you their are a few Egyptians that would like to be in the USA right now. How about more Russians, or Chinese?
I have been in the construction trade since 1982. Now days, on many jobsites, I maybe the only one speaking English. Never used to be like that. One day my truck got blocked in a driveway, took me an hour to get somebody to understand that I needed the "blue Nissan moved." Are the spanish making any attempt to learn English, like the Poles, Russians, Turks that pre-date their arrival. I am also always annoyed when our own govt. tells us..." They are taking jobs that no one else wants". BS Hardly any english speaking roofers...siders...painters...need I go on? And please do not tell me that only the documented spanish are taking those jobs. I know that not to be the case.
Please Razza, explain to me how I get to feel more like you.
And I do apologise for my "Tuckahoe Shooting" comment. Since a whorehouse (spanish) had been raided in that area not too long ago...I did stereo-type. I am sorry. At least I had the drugs and pitbulls correct. So in this day and age...2 out of 3 ain't bad.
Enjoy your weekend. And please do not fly of the handle, was not my intent.
Facts o' life, these days.
The "wealthy" invited them into our town like Dracula. Only problem is, THEY don't have to live with the consequences.
Other problem is, we ain't got enough garlic, to work that cheap.
I can't believe you ain't got no better cop-out than that.
when does McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut open shop out east ?
Maybe hopefully in time for that music fest in Amagansett.
You voted in a guy who was a Disneyland exec what do you expect.
Quit yer whining and deal with it.
bw
The 7-11 deal in Montauk started long before Wilkinson took office. What would you have done to legally stop it from opening after the Dems let the horse out of the barn several years ago? Enlighten us all on the legal action Wilkinson should have taken.
Can't ...more wait for the concert like many other local people who like the idea of not having to drive to Jones Beach or the city for some quality music. The Amagansett festival will have fewer people than the first four back to the ranch concerts on 9 more acres of property with five lanes for traffic rather than four. When it all works you will find something else to blame Wilkinson for -- you are a very angry person and/or jealous person.
As for Amagansett, I'd rather see a business there than an empty semi-strip mall for years & years. Looking like RH on a smaller scale.
What is up with the Amagansett attitude anyway? I thought that was reserved for the snobs in EH. This whole traffic & crowds argument and the constant whining is getting old. We are a tourist community. There's tons of real estate offices and banks lining our streets, selling our towns off. What did you expect would come with that? We can have Tiffany's & Starbucks, but oh no, 7-11? There was a whole snitfest when the Amagansett Square was going in too and they've blended in nicely & have been welcoming neighbors. Seen some really cool music events on that lawn as well. Stop being such a bunch of crybabies. So tired of hearing all this "small town charm" crapola. We were invaded long ago & the genie's out of the bottle. Nothing charming about having to go to K-Mart to buy a pair of jeans for under $30. I am EH lifer and this is my opinion and just offering it as you all do yours. Maybe if the whining stopped for a few minutes, we could all hear each other out.
Like I always say, the competition is better, without "mega" anything.
Too big to fail, is to big to be of any real good to the economy.
Nobody complained about that as I can recall. Montauk, the land of the wild west is fast becoming of age and its about time.
Deal with it and quit yer whining ya bunch of whining crybabies.
Want some cheese with your whine ? Go get it at 7-11
bw
If it doesn't violate any codes and has the necessary permits then the NIMBYS will have to deal with it. Any one of you whiners had a chance to open you're own business there.
7-11 is representative of of the type of commercial enterprise that is in direct conflict with local business. What do they offer that cannot be found at existing businesses? Nothing. It starts with 7-11 and Staples and then grows to encompass the entire spectrum of suburban excess.
Most people I know - and I am talking middle class working ...more people - live here to escape the 7-11 mentality.
Also, I believe you are confusing the order - the 7-11 is built and then people begin shopping there. If there is no 7-11 they will shop elsewhere.
this building has not operated as a business under an existing permit for years.the town ,according to the head inspector has no powers to stop this.What a pity that Mr Principi senior's name is being trashed by his son,he would never have stooped so low..he ...more was always thinking of what was right,his son has lost his way.step up Rick,this is bad for the town.whats next, crematorium ?
Don't take this the wrong way, but we live here, BECAUSE IT AIN'T NEW YORK CITY.
We would really appreciate it, it you left the fool city, in the city, and leave "the country be, instead of exploiting, and raping it for all it's "worth".
A cup o' joe at home, is LESS than two bucks.
~Marshall Mathers.
Money, is what destroyed the farms. Money, is what built monuments to avarice, and excess. Money, is what priced "middle class" people out of the home they were born in. Money, is what drives "Corporate America" to abuse the Fourteenth Amendment, for a purpose it was never intended for. If your heart truly was "out here", as much as those of us who were BORN here, you wouldn't even have MENTIONED MONEY.
HAVE A ...more NICE DAY!
Some are 16th Generation
'nuff said
Have a nice day!
By the way, are you an authority on "common prostitutes"?
Most of the men standing in front of 7-11's looking for work are not here legally.
There are very few work visa's issued in comparison to the number of criminal border runners, and most of those are reserved for employer sponsered high-skill workers. Mexico was allocated less than 700 unskilled employment visa's last year, and Guatemala, where most of the east end illegals come from, was issued less than 100.
Don't compound ...more the fact that you are a fool who thinks illegal immigration is a wonderful thing for America by insulting the intelligence of everyone around you.
When was the last time you tried to talk to those guys? When did you ever try to find out anything abut them? Never? So you admit your talking out of your _________.
Pull up in a van, with INS painted on the side of it.
See how many stick, and how many run.
Why does everyone associate 7-11 as being some kind of "union hall" ?
bw
In fact, the right to a job is a matter of law—and has been for 62 years!
The 1946 Employment Act and the 1978 Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act legally obligate the president and Congress to use all available means to achieve full employment.
Just look at the "entrance" to the village of Southampton - McDonalds, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11 - did anyone who moved out here years ago do so because they wanted to live amongst this type of suburban decay? I didn't.
Turning our towns into suburban strip malls not only ruins the character and feel of the ...more area, but it decreases the value of our homes and land.
For those who say that franchise convenience stores are the cost of progress and free enterprise I ask when do you finally say enough? There are plenty of places to buy discount aspirin.
That's what chains, and corporations have the potential to destroy with their minimum wage practices, and pitiful compensation packages. They recycle people in their workforce, like plastic bottles.
Give me the "little guy" ANY DAY.
"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"
~ "A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Act 3, Scene 2)
Actually, joe, your postings remind me of a hot dog - stuffed full of offal and void of originality.
No skyscrapers, no millions of people residing inside those miles.
NYC has 8 MILLION+ people. Yeah, chains like Nathan's, and competition of that nature works there. It makes sense to have such. The volume of people enables that. We don't have that kind of regular population. For the most part, bringing NYC here, has harmed the majority of us "locals", as well as the younger generations up, and coming. ...more I don't envy anyone in their mid twenties these days. Good luck with the "American Dream" in your own hometown. It ain't your daddy's Southampton anymore. The cost of living, belongs to avarice.
But the truth is that most of those burghers grew up eating sliders. These are simply the tastiest burgers out there but they don't photograph well for copy so we on the East End have had to settle for McDonalds/Burger King/Wendy's and their photogenic brethren despite their uniform ...more dry, cardboardy taste.
But Mr. Principi COULD put up an up-market rip-off of White Castle. Call it "Bright Manor" and tart it up with acceptable Amagansett gingerbread. Moreover, since White Castle has degraded its ingredients for the convenience of mass-merchandising, he could serve the Original Sliders with real, undehydrated chopped onion topping. He would out-White-Castle White Castle.
The sliders themselves are no secret recipe. They are small, thin beef patties steam-cooked quickly in the juice of the onions. People in other parts of the country have been known to travel fifty miles to get a slider. White Castle even sells a dreadful frozen version in supermarkets that people actually buy, choking them down while tolling the mantra, "This is a slider. I love sliders. This is a slider."
I can see Mr. Principi becoming the hamburger king of the East End with cops assigned on summer weekends just to monitor the traffic flow of all the people coming from up-island. And in the winter, all those lonely old people waiting to die would have a talisman of their youth to elevate their spirits.
How about this for a bumper sticker: "I'm an Amagansett Burger Burgher".
Principi could sponsor a soft ball team called the Burger Burghers.
This really sounds like a winner.