Gosman's, Iconic Montauk Eatery, On the Market

MONTAUK, NY - An iconic piece of Montauk history is on the market.

Gosman's, a 447-seat seafood eatery, as well as the entire 14-acre site on Montauk Harbor owned by the Gosman family, is up for sale, with an asking price of $52.5 million, according to the Julia Prince, who is handling the sale for Saunders & Associates.

The parcel includes six retail shops, four restaurants, three motels, two plots of vacant land, approximately an acre of beachfront on Block Island Sound and a 330-car parking lot, according to Prince.

"This is an iconic offering," Prince said.

The property is zoned for retail and resort, so it's a prime spot for a new hotel with the same uses that currently exist, she said.

With the new owner, the site could continue to be a source of jobs, Prince said, "good for the year-round economy" while also adding "some good benefits for the second homeowner population."

Referring to the town's new rental registry and share houses, which have posed some problems in the past, Prince, a former East Hampton Town board member, said the redeveloped Gosman's property, with updated hotel rooms, could prove a boon.

"Montauk is booked from Memorial Day to Labor Day," she said. "A lot of people have historically rented out houses because hotels were booked" or because rooms may have needed a facelift, she said. "You have customers that want to stay in a more updated property. This is a good opportunity for the redevelopment of some really precious waterfront property."

She added that town code would help to curb the overdevelopment some might fear, and would protect residents from a "lot of nightmare scenarios" they might be envisioning.

Gosman's Dock in Montauk was founded in 1943 by Robert and Mary Gosman. At the time, the Gosmans were fish packers and "fishdrummers", or agents for Fulton Market, according to gosmans.com.

The Gosman family bought the properties in 1950 and additional land in 1958, according to the site; the restaurant started out as a chowder stand, specializing in lobster rolls.

Later, clothing and gourmet food shops, as well as other amenities, were added to the popular tourist destination.