Montauk Pioneer - August 1, 2008

There is no doubt that the Montauk summer scene has been dominated by The Surf Lodge. The phenomenon from day one of Memorial Day weekend has been emotional and divisive for locals and tourists.

However, with success comes problems and for the Surf Lodge, the problems are never small. Take for example the parking situation. There are weekend nights when the parking on Edgemere looks like the Yankees are playing the Red Sox in Montauk that night. Town officials are now going to sort out what to do. Club spokesman Steve Kasuba told me the Surf Lodge will do whatever the Town suggests. They are staggered by the scope of their success.

Now the Town of East Hampton Fire Marshal has weighed in, supervising an orderly temporary shut down last Saturday night at around midnight. Due to overcrowding the Surf Lodge had to respectfully refuse admittance to many disappointed patrons, many who drove from as far as Southampton and up island to check out the scene. Steve Kasuba himself was at the door doing his best to explain and prevent people from flipping out.

Owners Jamie Mulholland, Robert McKinley, Jayma Cardosa and Steven Kamali are no strangers to success. Every penny of the $5 million they have reportedly spent to buy and renovate the Surf Lodge has been spent with panache. However one has to be sure that these Surf Lodge owners are getting a formal education about doing business in the Town of East Hampton, specifically Montauk. Saturday night was Fire Marshal 101 with Dave Browne doing the lecturing. He told me that the place is, "Not really dangerous because it has many exits and is basically outdoors so if there was a fire everyone would be outside already."

However, inside there is about a 130 plus occupancy for the bar area and Mr. Browne thought it prudent that the Lodge stop admitting new patrons while those there left leisurely. He said the management was extremely, "Cooperative, concerned and helpful." He said that the Fire Marshal, "Is business friendly, but safety must always come first," and did not see a long-term problem with the Surf Lodge management that might lead to fines or closings.

He also said it was not uncommon for very new places to draw crowds, but this was "unbelievable." As he said this, he and I looked at a type A woman who seem to somehow land at the Surf Lodge every night.

It still remains a question just how the $5 million "dive bar," will harness the crowds without becoming what Steve Kasuba told me they will never become, "A red velvet rope night club with a huge cover charge."

Speaking with Francesca, from Zurich, obviously not a local. She said, "Wow, very crazy place!"

She was leaving the country on Monday.

The truth is, when the doors were shut to new arrivals, the whines were informative about from how far many of these visitors had come. Riverhead, Huntington, Islip and Shirley were where people actually drove from just to visit the new Montauk "dive bar."

There is no way to put in print the level of disappointment they felt when bouncers repeatedly told them they could not go inside.

It was handled with class, but the disappointment was huge.

It was not an easy time for the manager that night, but he handled it well. He looked stressed and concerned, but he was polite.

When the doors opened an hour later, the club was at a very comfortable level for the rest of the night.

Some patrons inside who had been there all night probably never knew what happened.

Those who waited and finally got in learned a lesson, come early and stay.

The truth is, it is a nice place to spend a sweet summer night with a cocktail in hand, surrounded by beautiful people.