Is the Montauk Party Over?

Dive bars are out. Fine dining is in. Summer shares are scarce. Town leaders are hoping to put the kibosh on the antics of seasons past.

Before 2020, it was impossible to miss a wooden beach bar in Montauk called the Sloppy Tuna. Shoes and shirts were optional. Bikini-clad ladies and shirtless men would guzzle piña coladas on the deck. It was involved in numerous drug arrests and noise complaints. Now that era has come to an end. The space reopens this weekend as Bounce Beach Montauk, part of an upscale sports club chain in Manhattan and Chicago. The old grungy surf boards are gone, replaced by shiny pastel ones. Wings and mozzarella cheese sticks are out; coriander crusted yellowfin tuna and prime New York strip steak are in.