Actress Naomi Watts has become a Montauk Mama. (Splash News)
It was Fourth of July weekend in Montauk, the unpretentious fishing and surfing town at the tip of Long Island. In the center of town, next door to the divey Memory Motel immortalized in the Rolling Stones song of the same name, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley was hosting a party at her clothing store. The Prosecco flowed freely, and tunes by Goldfrapp and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs added to the festive mood.
Everyone was talking about the bash fashion photographer Ben Watts would be throwing later on at Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Café on Lake Montauk. Known for its Crabby Bakes and early-bird specials, the family-friendly eatery would be hosting the star-studded likes of couple Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts, and Alessandra Ambrosio.
With its low-key celebs, pristine beaches and world-class surf scene, it’s no wonder that some saltwater-weathered locals now sarcastically refer to Montauk as “Malibu East.”
“It’s definitely much busier [this year],” says Nova Rizzo, a surfer who manages Rowley’s shop, where $180 wetsuits and bold, tribal prints are all the rage.
This summer, a slew of new high-end spots are officially making Montauk a destination spot for jet setters who’d rather hang 10 with the likes of rocker Chris Martin than high-five with the Kardashians in Southampton. Among them, there’s the Crow’s Nest, a tatty motel and restaurant being revived by Waverly Inn and Jane Hotel founder Sean MacPherson, and Ruschmeyer’s, an inn that amounts to a summer camp for slumming bon vivants, where deejays spin soul and classic rock until sunrise.
And in September, the surf brand Quiksilver will host a $1 million surf tournament in Long Beach expected to bring tens of thousands of people to Long Island. Even though it’s an hour away, Montauk will no doubt be bustling.
“No one in history has ever done that for a surfing competition,” says Montauk surfer Mikey DeTemple, 28, whose new surfing documentary was celebrated with a rooftop bash hosted by Tommy Hilfiger at SoHo’s James Hotel last month.
Of course, the fabulous have long been drawn to Montauk.
In 2006, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow bought a home in Amagansett, and Martin surfs the nearby Montauk beaches. Ditto Liev Schreiber and Julian Schnabel. Ralph Lauren has kept a Montauk compound since the ’70s. But this summer appears to be the tipping point.
“The attention was never there for Montauk the way it is now,” says Chamber of Commerce president Paul Monte, whose family has owned Gurney’s Inn for more than 50 years.
In the past, Monte’s beachside resort and spa has mainly drawn moms in need of a little R&R while their children build sand castles. But this summer it has attracted a new crowd, including artist Kathy Grayson, model May Anderson and fashion designer Waris Ahluwalia for an oceanfront re-creation of the edgy Chinatown party known as Madame Wong’s.
Behind the new crop of parties is Monte’s 21-year-old son, PJ, who splits his time between his hometown and downtown Manhattan.
The younger Monte says he recently realized his hometown had become a major destination when he started seeing J.Crew T-shirts bearing maps of Montauk.
The change has inspired new business ventures among locals. “We opened our boutique two years ago after realizing that the ‘Hamptonization’ of Montauk was inevitable,” says Rowley. “The store is still very, very low-key, though, and really reflects the local vibe.”
The changes haven’t come without growing pains, according to Deena Sayers, who’s bartended at the nouveau-rustic spot Surf Lodge since it opened in 2008, and now works at Ruschmeyer’s as well.
“[The locals] weren’t very welcoming,” she says. “They wouldn’t serve us in certain bars if they knew we worked at Surf Lodge,” which drew well-heeled crowds and local rancor.
“But now,” she says, “Montauk is thriving when other cities are not — so people have adapted, and they’re a lot more welcoming.”
Kathleen Doran and Anthony Dooley say Montauk’s newfound popularity has allowed them to move their Salt Box silk-screening studio out of a garage and into the seaside shop they opened Memorial Day weekend.
“I definitely see a new crowd of people coming in,” says Doran, 29, whose local hangout is the raucous roadhouse Sloppy Tuna, which also debuted this summer.
But while the Montauk vibe tends towards boho-chic, the buzz has pulled in a more extravagant crowd that threatens to destroy the laid-back cool. On a recent Saturday at Gurney’s Inn, the umbrella-covered deck was packed with millionaire playboys plunking down an average of $5,000 for a table. While deejays spun house music, “massage girls” in short-shorts went table to table, rubbing the necks of the big spenders. Champagne was sprayed.
The scene-chasing crowd wouldn’t have come to Montauk in previous years. According to Gurney’s Inn owners, most of them would leave at sunset to continue their flashy style of partying back in the Hamptons.
Still, artists, designers and celebs continue their migration.
That’s just history repeating itself, says Tony Caramanico, who moved to Montauk 40 years ago.
“When I came to this town in 1971, I was the Surf Lodge of my time,” he says.
“I had a business and a restaurant and started a surf shop. We were these young hippies opening a fashionable, hip restaurant. [The locals] came at us like we were from outer space. That’s what’s happening [again].”