Hamptons’ Almond restaurant site listed with former waitress for $3.15M

From left: Kelsey Grammer and Bill Clinton with the Almond in Bridgehampton, the Arthur Hammerstein House in Beechhurst and 519 Broadway in Soho

For the past 10 years, the Hamptons’ A-list flocked to Almond in Bridgehampton for chef Jason Weiner’s macaroni and cheese with chopped truffles.

But the restaurant closed in December, and Almond’s longtime location at 1970 Montauk Highway is on the market for $3.15 million with Town & Country Real Estate.

The listing broker is Missy Capozzoli, who also worked for years as a part-time waitress at Almond. The one-acre property includes the restaurant space with a two-bedroom apartment above; a detached two-car garage; and a studio cottage, she said.

The likes of Kelsey Grammar, Bette Midler and Bill Clinton frequented the Parisian bistro, opened in 2001 by Weiner and Eric Lemonides, Capozzoli said. But after lease negotiations with the landlord stalled this fall, the restaurant closed Dec. 4.
The property is owned by Carol and Greg Konner of Konner Development, a well-known Hamptons landowner and a partner in the 28-acre housing development the Pasture at Mecox in Watermill.

1970 Montauk Highway

In 2008, Weiner and Lemonides opened an outpost of Almond in Manhattan, in a Jeffrey Chodorow-owned space at 12 East 22nd Street in the Flatiron District. They also operate the Blue Whale Restaurant and Canteen on Fire Island, a space recently acquired by FIP Ventures. Their East Hampton venture, Almoncello, closed in 2009.

Almond regulars like Joy Behar and Ron Rifkin were “devastated” to hear the news of its closing in December, Capozzoli said.

“It was a huge celebrity hangout,” she said.

Weiner and Lemonides have said they will look to find Almond a new location in the Hamptons.

The 1970 Montauk Highway restaurant space seats 100 people and has two rooms, “one of which can be closed off when it’s not needed so it makes it very cozy,” Capozzoli said. The cedar-shingled building has a wrap-around porch, hardwood floors and pressed-tin ceilings, she said. Between the 1,700-square-foot cottage and the apartment above the restaurant, the owner of a new eatery “could have the whole staff live there,” she said. The property likely could also be turned into a single-family home, she said.

Greg Konner did not immediately return calls for comment.

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An apartment in the landmarked Arthur Hammerstein house in Beechhurst, Queens is on the market for $1.299 million.
The Tudor-style waterfront mansion was built in the early 1920s for Arthur Hammerstein, The Broadway producer and uncle of famous lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Arthur dubbed the two-story house Wildflower, after his hit 1923 play of the same name.

The apartment at 168-11 Powells Cove

The house, located at 168-11 Powells Cove, was restored and converted to five condos about 10 years ago. One of them, a three-bedroom apartment, is now on the market with Pat Bourgeois of Bayside-based Coldwell Banker R. Weir Realty.

The apartment has retained the house’s original stonework, angled ceilings and original marble fireplaces, Bourgeois said.
“It comes with a history,” she said.

It also has water views from the master bedroom, master bathroom, dining room and living room, she said.

The original Hammerstein house is now part of a gated community of townhouses known as Wildflower Estates, developed by the real estate arm of Kiska Construction Corporation U.S.A. Kiska had previously proposed making the mansion a clubhouse for a 171-unit condominium project, but local opposition stymied the plan.

Hammerstein built Wildflower around the time of his marriage to silent film actress Dorothy Dalton. At the time, Beechhurst — a residential village within Whitestone, Queens — was a popular destination for Broadway stars and movie actors. After the stock market crash of 1929, however, Hammerstein was forced to sell the property. It then changed hands several times, housing a banquet hall called Ripples on the Water for a time. It was designated a landmark in 1982, but had sat vacant for years by the time Kiska began developing it.

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Penthouse 6 at 519 Broadway

A nautical-themed Soho loft is now on the rental market for $15,000 per month, according to the listing broker, Charlie Attias, a senior vice president at the Corcoran Group. The owner of the unit, Penthouse 6 at 519 Broadway, is a sailing enthusiast and “the whole concept of the loft is about boats,” Attias said. That’s most noticeable in the kitchen, a long, galley-like space with a 20-foot-long island, an overhead skylight and lamps suspended from the ceiling.

The 4,200-square-foot co-op, Located On Broadway between Spring and Broome streets, has three bedrooms and a 4,000-square-foot Private Terrace. Attias declined to comment on the owner.