Montauk Harbor Mainstay, Gosman’s Dock Changing Hands
Gosman’s Dock in Montauk, prime commercial waterfront property including well-known seafood restaurants, has been sold for an unspecified sum, ending years of speculation and more than 80 years of ownership by the Gosman family, sources have confirmed.
Calls seeking in-depth information were met without any comment beyond a confirmation of the transaction.
“There was a sale,” a source at the company said this week. “Wholesale is continuing to operate as of now.”
The story of the sale first appeared in the Express-News Group newspapers, which includes 27East.com, which reported that the assets at 484 West Lake Drive were sold on Oct. 21 and that a stock sale, including the entity that has owned and managed properties, could follow.
They also reported that the buyer was Stephen Deckoff, a billionaire who founded private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, which manages $10 billion in assets, according to Forbes. He is a U.S. Virgin Islands resident and real estate investor, owning multi-million dollar properties in New York City, Colorado and Beverly Hills.
Deckoff made real estate news last year when he bought Caribbean islands Great St. James and Little St. James, which had belonged to Jeffrey Epstein, for $60 million. He reportedly planned to build a hotel on the islands.
The Montauk sale was handled by Henri M. Kessler and Michael Tuccillo of Manhattan-based Marcus & Millichap, a commercial real estate investment sales brokerage. They did not provide additional information, but indicated more should be available in early November.
Behind the Hedges reported that the site, often simply referred to as Gosman’s Dock, consists of nine properties on 11.6 acres, on Montauk Harbor. It includes four restaurants, six stores, a wholesale lobster and fish business and four staff housing properties, totaling 48,145 square feet of space, plus the dock and marina, a large parking lot and vacant land.
Marcus & Millichap listed the property in March of 2023 at $45 million. The land is zoned for waterfront, resort and central business.
“Family owned and operated for more than 70 years, the properties present investors with an opportunity to acquire 600 feet of unobstructed waterfront views in one of the nation’s premier vacation destinations,” Kessler told Hedges at the time.
Gosman’s Dock also includes a 26,101-square-foot marina and shopping complex with six buildings, three restaurants and six retail shops, also offering fishing charters and boat rentals.
Gosman’s Seafood Restaurant at 500 West Lake Drive is a 13,091-square-foot space including outdoor patios overlooking the harbor and a second-floor office area. The restaurant, only open during warmer seasons, is adjacent to seasonal staff housing at 507 and 511 West Lake Drive, 2 Wells Avenue and 6 Wells Avenue.
The vacant parcels, at 521 West Lake Drive, are on 1.3 acres with views of Gardiner’s Bay. The building at 543 West Lake Drive includes Gaviola’s Market, Suffolk County National Bank and a boat storage area, near a 2.25-acre parking at 493 West Lake Drive.
This sale, along with other recent previous sales of Gosman property, follows the death of John Gosman Sr. of complications of COVID-19-related pneumonia at age 87.
The parcel includes Gosman’s Seafood Restaurant, which bills itself as “Montauk’s favorite seafood restaurant,” on the water at the edge of the entrance to Montauk Harbor. It boasts “spectacular views, specialties, lunch dinner and drinks in a casual atmosphere.”
Gosman’s Dock in Montauk was founded in 1943 by Robert and Mary Gosman, who had been fish packers and “fish drummers,” or agents for the Fulton Market in New York City. The Gosman family bought the properties in 1950 and additional land in 1958, starting with a chowder stand, specializing in lobster rolls.
“The wholesale lobster and fish business and the quality of the seafood encouraged the family (five sons and a daughter) to develop the Gosman’s Restaurant and Clam Bar,” according to the company. “As the restaurant developed, clothing and gourmet food shops and tourist services were added.”
Montauk has seen several major commercial transactions, mostly in the hospitality sector, in recent years, including in the harbor.
In late 2022, Blue Flag Partners, a company that owns several leading accommodations on the East Coast purchased Sunset Montauk, as well as two vacant properties and four waterfront parcels in Montauk Harbor, all within walking distance to Gosman’s Dock. The eight transactions for 3.46 acres totaled nearly $13.5 million.
Nearby, the Montauk Yacht Club returned to its original name after Gurney’s sold the property to an international marina company in 2022, in a massive deal that totaled $149,400,000 — not only the biggest commercial transaction that year, but in Hamptons’ history.
Earlier that same year, the oceanfront hotel Marram Montauk sold for $77.5 million. An affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in travel and leisure investments, acquired the 96-room boutique resort, paying nearly $808,000 per key.
This year, the Sands Motel in downtown Montauk, longtime family-owned, traded for slightly more than $23.5 million. The four-parcel property offers views of the Atlantic Ocean and Fort Pond. A prominent hospitality group, Enduring Hospitality, was identified as the buyer.
