After months of uncertainty about selecting an operator to oversee and manage Rye Town Park’s restaurant, snack and concession stands, the park’s commission elected to extend its current license agreement with Seaside Johnnies for a one-year term just two months before the property would otherwise become vacant. But it remains unclear if the owners are agreeable to the short-term deal.
During the latest Rye Town Park Commission meeting on Oct. 18, commission members also voted in favor of hiring a restaurant consultant and republishing a new request for proposals, RFP, to operate the park’s restaurant, following mounting concern from residents who were displeased with the time period of the first RFP, which was released last summer, and felt that they were not thoroughly involved in the selection process.
“I am happy that both resolutions passed,” said Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian, a Republican and member of the park commission. “I think extending the license agreement for one year and having a restaurant consultant gives us the most flexibility. The consultant will write the best possible request for proposals and help us reach as wide of an audience as possible.”
According to Mack Cunningham, a current member of the Rye Golf Club Commission, a restaurant consultant will expedite the process of selecting an operator for the park’s dining outlet. “When you’re looking to get into a deal with an operator for 10 years, you want to get it right,” he said. “The process could take longer than the commission is willing to accept, but what a consultant will bring is value as far as identifying restaurateurs interested in the property.”
Cunningham said the golf commission successfully hired a restaurant consultant to solicit restaurateurs to operate the club’s restaurant in 2013. According to Cunningham, the consultant helped the golf club drum up six favorable proposals to operate the Whitby Castle restaurant.
Despite the park commission’s approval to extend its current license with Seaside Johnnies for one year, Killian told the Review that it is still uncertain if an extension will be reached with John Ambrose and Sam Chernin, the owners of Seaside Johnnies.
“I don’t know if we’ll reach an agreement to extend the license at this point, but I’m confident we will work out what’s best for residents of the city of Rye and for the park,” she said.
The current license agreement with Seaside Johnnies, which overlooks Oakland Beach and the Long Island Sound, expires at the end of 2016. Ambrose first opened the Rye Town Park restaurant, which is open seasonally from April to September, in 2000.
Following an RFP that was sent out in late June, the owners of Seaside Johnnies proposed to expand on its current restaurant theme, while adding a tropical twist. Ambrose proposed to refurnish the beachfront snack bar and main restaurant. The proposal also included updates to equipment. In total, construction was estimated to cost $1 million.
“I think the most important takeaway this time was that everybody was in agreement that we should reopen the request for proposals,” said Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman, a Democrat and president of the commission. “Whether we will attract more bidders remains to be seen.”
According to Zuckerman, Angelo Liberatore, an operating partner of the Fort Pond Bay Company—which operates Half Moon and Harvest on Hudson in Westchester County, and East by Northeast and the Stone Lion Inn in Montauk—previously expressed interest in resubmitting his restaurant proposal had a new one been issued.
In August, Liberatore proposed to operate a full-service, seafood-focused concept restaurant called the Mission Fishery, serving Spanish-influenced American cuisine. The estimated total cost of the project was $724,350.
Liberatore withdrew his proposal on Aug. 15, and hasn’t had any contact with the park commission since, according to Zuckerman.
Zuckerman also told the Review that the park commission will once again seek a 10-year license agreement to begin operating the restaurant in 2018.
The Rye Town Park Commission—which consists of representatives from the city and the town of Rye, and the villages of Port Chester, Rye Brook and the Rye Neck section of the village of Mamaroneck—is responsible for setting policy at the park and governing its operations.
Liberatore and Ambrose could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
