Welcome to The Hamptons Chronicle
Mischievous local news by Rory Satran: The Hamptons Ten Q+A with Jenna Lyons; secrets of Gen-Z fisherman Sawyer Clark; the return of Chanel.
Happy Memorial Day, and welcome to the first edition of The Hamptons Chronicle. I zigzagged around the villages this weekend eating a lot of sugar in the name of research, from Sagaponack General Store’s viral apple fritters to Jamagansett’s crispy cookies. The rain drove everyone into the shops: Loro Piana in East Hampton was mobbed with guys buying windbreakers and terry-cloth cushions, and moms stocked up on Supergoop’s pump sunscreen. A local told me she knows it’s summer because all the Citarellas are full of personal chefs in Crocs right when they open at 7am.
As a former columnist and editor at The Wall Street Journal with deep ties to The Hamptons, I’ve long dreamed of covering the area more fully. My grandfather and great-grandfather owned and operated small newspapers and magazines in northern Wisconsin (one devoted solely to snowmobiling), and I grew up thinking that was the most fulfilling way to live in a community. My late Grandpa Dan had a long-running column in one of his own newspapers called “On My Mind.”
What’s been on my mind is the wild range of stories in my adopted home of Eastern Long Island. Locals rage against weekenders; elite potheads go to war with the sobriety police; preservationists butt heads with developers. The drama that plays out year-round, from real-estate battles to drug-fueled murders to oyster theft, escalates in the summer when the population balloons from 100,000 to four times that.
The Hamptons Chronicle will cover real estate, parties, drugs, wildlife, crime, fashion, food, local politics, and finance. Expect a newsletter twice a week, merch, fun stuff on Instagram and TikTok, and a print edition. If you’re a local, a weekender, or just a voyeur, I’d love to hear from you: rory@thehamptonschronicle.com. The next time a pop star has one too many martinis at The American Hotel, I’ll be there.
Sun Life Organics, a smoothie spot started in Malibu by the vocal recovering heroin addict Khalil Rafati, opened in the old Estia’s space. (K Pasa absorbed some of its staff and is promising Estia’s-ish breakfasts.) If you’re nostalgic for Estia’s famous green sauce, the clever local private chef Robyn Henderson-Diederiks posted a video of her approximation of it.
Barlume Beach, a “full-scale beach club” in Montauk with a hotel, marina, and restaurant from John Meadow’s LDV Hospitality, is definitely summer-people bait, but I enjoy glowy July evenings at LDV’s spot in East Hampton at The Maidstone. Sounds like they’re angling for the boat-in crowd that makes spots like Duryea’s Orient and Sunset Beach in Shelter Island such cash cows.
At Babe’s Diner in Sag, where it’s already impossible to nab one of the 8 counter seats, the move is ordering the A+ pancakes to eat in nearby Memorial Park.
Chanel is back in East Hampton at 17 Newtown Lane, and the girlies are lining up, waiting up to an hour to purchase pieces from Matthieu Blazy’s “Coco Beach” collection. The brand used to have a seasonal boutique across the street at a gray-shingled 1897 “cottage” that’s now home to Rolex. Last year an influencer told me: “If you don’t take a selfie in front of the little Chanel boutique house-looking store, then I’m not sure if you even went to the Hamptons.”
Secrets of a Gen-Z DTC Fisherman
On New Year’s Eve, I bought a bag of fresh lobster caught that very day from a 29-year-old Shelter Island fisherman, Sawyer Clark. The Peconic Bay gets pretty icy in December, and it’s not exactly a hotbed of lobstering. But Clark, who grew up selling seafood and ice off a cart attached to his bike, lives to fish.
Clark’s lobster hauls are rare on Long Island. These days, almost all the crustaceans for the lobster rolls you eat in the Hamptons come from Maine. In September 1999, there was a mass die-off of lobsters in the Long Island Sound that has been explained by shifting water temperatures, disease, and pesticide runoff. Dead lobsters floated everywhere; the industry has never recovered. Lobster landings in New York State have dropped 97% since 1998. But East End lobstering is slowly returning.
In addition to lobster—which he traps with his father, who has the license—Clark catches striped bass, sea bass, weakfish, fluke, calamari, and the occasional scallops. He and his wife Norma, who runs the business alongside him, are tickled when customers demand salmon or tuna, which don’t swim in the bay.
A commercial fisherman, Clark turned to direct-to-consumer selling from his own cooler on Shelter Island during Covid, as a way to turn a profit in the increasingly precarious fishing economy. Clark says that on the first day of the scalloping season in November, he caught 10 scallops—which he tossed back. Meanwhile, the steering on his boat broke, meaning a $7500 repair cost. The boat, which has a mortgage, costs $400 to run per night with fuel. So one day of scalloping, which would have been profitable in his father’s day, netted him nearly negative $8k.
But Clark, who works alone from 8pm to 7am, talks about the beauty of the bay at sunrise as he rocks out to his playlist. After all, he says, it sure beats “a land job.”
Read more, including how many great white sharks Clark spots, in our first print issue.
Just as Memorial Day weekend was kicking off, Brooklyn woman Ruth Pamela Guzman Rosario, 21, allegedly broke into Ralph Lauren’s Double RL store in East Hampton and stole $21,250 worth of merchandise. Sources told me the thief broke the glass doors shown above with a fire extinguisher, and then made off with the haul to a nearby apartment. Police chased her onto a rooftop where she was spotted by a drone. (The East Hampton police are pros at luxury theft; In 2022, the force staged a press conference displaying the Balenciaga handbags it recovered after a high-speed car chase) It’s not as hard as it sounds to make off with over $20k of clothing at a store where a pair of rare 1950s vintage Lee jeans costs $1650.
Our signature questionnaire where we ask Hamptons insiders about their favorite spots. First up: partner in the value creation company FundamentalCo, RHONY refugee, peony lover, and part-time Springs resident Jenna Lyons on her dream day:
Describe your perfect Hamptons day.
Cass surfing at the crack of dawn. Coffee At S&S. If I’m feeling cavalier, I’ll get a croissant or focaccia bread. Pilates With Rasa. Grass watering. Load all friends, children and animals into the boat. Lunch is optional. Dog walk is after the boat. BBQ dinner. Making s’mores by the water. Bed by 9:29pm.
What’s your favorite spot for a drink?
Il Buco Al Mare.
What’s your secret shopping spot?
S&S Corner Shop or “Across The Street” by E-E Home. The likelihood of a very unsummery selvedge denim jean escorting me home is a distinct possibility.
Who would you love to bump into at the farmer’s market?
Julianne Moore.
What’s your main gripe about the Hamptons?
Round Swamp Farm is not open all year round. Also, my glam squad doesn’t do house calls.
What would be your dream dinner: spot, order, company?
For the spot, our deck. The order is oysters, surf & turf BBQ, pies, cakes and ice cream. The dessert to dinner food ratio is 70-30. The company would be Beckett, Leo, Mae, Cass, Sara, Pascal, Ethan, Andy, Gideon, Sarah, June, Luke, Tuck, Popeye, Megatron, Rimba And Charlie.
What’s your advice to newbies about a visit out East?
Have you heard of a place called the North Fork?
Where do you go in the Hamptons to be alone?
That’s an oxymoron.
What’s your go-to hostess gift?
Handmade twisted candles or high-quality olive oil from Il Buco Vita.
Who makes the best lobster roll?
Lunch Lobster Roll.
More About Me:
I split my time between New York City and Shelter Island, where I live with my husband and daughter. Sometimes I’m in L.A., where I’ve worked as a creative consultant to “Emily in Paris” since 2021. During my eight years as chief columnist and executive fashion director at WSJ, some of my most popular stories were about the Hamptons, including a look at the jaw-dropping price of a girls’ weekend, an exclusive on Scott Sartiano’s battle with East Hampton’s mayor Jerry Larsen over the Hedges Inn, and a piece on the elite Bridgehampton fitness scene.
Love that you nabbed Jenna right out of the gate.
Lobstering and a theft at ralph lauren ?!?!