The weekend used to be viewed as a Hamptons weekend, but now it is more of a beach weekend for urbanites. They start their weekends on Thursday afternoons after a day of supposedly working remotely and extending the party into the wee hours of Sunday.
Renee Towell, 48, a TV producer who was out east with her friend Lisa Bretweiser, 58, on a recent Thursday since neither had to go into the office on Friday, checked in to the Argent hotel. Towell said that it was packed and they were dancing the whole time.
Local businesses have adjusted to accommodate crowds.
Sylvia Muller is the owner of the Mill House Inn in East Hampton. People who weren’t tied to a schedule realized that weekdays were less expensive.
New Yorkers no longer have to battle traffic on Fridays and Sundays. Jon Krasner, owner of the Hero Beach Club hotel and Shagwong restaurant, said that people don’t want to drive home on Sunday night.
Women in flowing florals and men in linen shirts are dancing to a live DJ at the intimate Elaia Estiatorio in Bridgehampton.
The general manager of the restaurant said that they started it because Sundays grew in popularity. It goes from 10 to 1 a.m., but if it is crazy we will keep cranking.
The pool used to be almost empty on Sunday afternoons. It is no longer possible. Guests were still soaking up the sun as the day drew to a close, on a recent 80 degree Sunday.
Michael Pitsinos, a partner in the hotel, said that there are so many people working at the hotel on Mondays and Thursdays that they have set up poolside stations with computers and printers for them. The average stay here was two nights, but that has changed to three to five nights. It is cheaper than real estate on Madison Avenue.
The Golden Pear cafes have seen a 30% increase in Monday business, and popular sushi spot Kissaki has decided to stay open seven nights a week. At the Mediterranean restaurant Calissa in Water Mill, June Thursdays used to be slow but now live music has been introduced to entertain the growing crowd.
75 Main has had to add more workers to accommodate its growing business.
“We used to only have a couple of server on the floor Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays, but now we have to double the staff on those nights.” He thinks that rising crime in the city is one of the reasons that people are spending more time out East. Customers tell me that they feel safe here.
The 43-year-old real estate broker is spending more time out east because his work is there.
He said his weekends started Friday when he took the cannonball train out and ended Sunday when he returned to the city. My clients come out Thursday morning, so I am doing a lot of showings there as well as Mondays.
Working remotely and managing their own hours is a silver lining for many. Towell says that people are able to have fun again. Nothing will happen if the Pandemic didn’t reach us.
Events are shifting to Thursdays. Chefs of the Hamptons, sponsored by Dan’s Papers, was held on a Saturday in June. The event moved to Thursday this year. Don Evans, the event’s producer, said that he was confident that there would be enough people to hold it on a week night for the first time.
They are adjusting to the new schedule.
One local who works in the service industry said, “The upside is, we are making more money, but the downside is, we can’t get parking spots at the beach, have to wait on line for bagels or surf equipment, and there are just more kooks.”
A local reminisced about the days when city folk packed up and left every Sunday.
“We used to sit at Wlffer vineyard, watch the line of cars headed back to the city on Sunday nights and laugh,” said one EastHampton resident sharing taco with her husband at Rita Cantina. Not so much.
