Nobu Hamptons opening is “sort of a prenup”

Capri Hotel reception office and the Nobu dining room

To much fanfare, Nobu announced it was bringing its famed sushi to the Hamptons this summer, but the Wall Street Journal reported the restaurant’s marriage to the Hamptons may only be temporary and that it is considering a global catering business.

“There’s no obligation. This is sort of a prenup,” Richie Notar, a managing partner at the restaurant, told the Journal of the restaurant’s opening in the Capri Hotel. “We’re going to live together a little while and they’ll see if we snore and we’ll see where they keep their toothbrush, and if we still love each other, we’ll stay together.”

But the restaurant has already had to expand beyond its initial 120 seats and into other parts of the Capri property, at 281 Country Road in Southampton, because of the demand. Unlike the two-person reservations common in the restaurant’s Tribeca location, many Hamptons diners want tables for 10-to-20 people, Notar said.

Eventually, the Journal said, Nobu hopes to open a global catering business, on the heels of its popularity at this year’s Cannes film festival. The restaurant has also catered actor Tom Cruise’s birthday part on a boat, and events for the Rolling Stones and the Chelsea United football club. [WSJ]