The restaurant business, to put it mildly, is always changing. And so are the employees that work in it.
Longtime American Hotel bartender Vinnie Rom is a unique exception, having been behind the stick at the beloved Sag Harbor staple since 1991.
Originally from New Hyde Park, Rom came out to the Hamptons in the early ‘80s, initially working at restaurants and bars in Montauk.
“I needed a year-round job, so I came [to the American Hotel] because my friend who owned the bar in Montauk that I worked at came here and started tending bar,” he says.
Initially, the Springs resident wasn’t all that interested in working at the Hotel, as it came off as a little too stuffy and old-fashioned for his style. “I said to him, ‘Can you get me a job at the Corner Bar?’ And he said, ‘Why do you want to work at the Corner Bar?’ I said, ‘Well, look at you. You’re dressed in a tie, a white shirt and black pants. I’d rather go to the Corner Bar and, you know, sling Budweiser and shots of tequila.’”
After a bit of convincing, Rom agreed to work at the boutique hotel and resto for a couple of weeks with the intention of moving on if he didn’t like it.
“I never left,” he says. For that, the East End is lucky. Here are a few of Rom’s favorite things:
Favorite cocktail Vodka martini. With Tito’s. No vermouth. Blue-cheese olives.
Favorite beach Montauk. Kirk Park, the IGA beach (95 S. Emerson Ave.). I can park on the side road with my car because I have a parking sticker, and I can walk right up onto the beach and go to the right. I’ll find a spot where there’s no people, and I can sit there and hang out with my wife on the chairs and do the crossword puzzle and read the newspaper, and it’s heaven.
Favorite restaurant Bostwick’s on the Harbor (39 Gann Road, East Hampton, 631-324-1150). Watching the sunset with friends, whether it’s open or closed, because we go there all year long. I know Kevin [Boles] and Chris [Eggert], the owners. And I’m like, “We’re sitting on your porch right now. Is that okay?” And he’s like, ‘Yeah, have a good time. If the cops ask anything, tell them you’re my friend.’
Favorite business that’s no longer around Harbor Deli, 7-Eleven and, I’d be dating myself, but Main Street Tavern. It was a total local tavern in every sense.
Favorite new business The [Sag Harbor] Cinema (90 Main St., 631-725-0010). We went there recently with about six other people, saw a movie and then migrated upstairs for a drink and to catch the sunset at the rooftop bar. It’s a great addition to the town.
Favorite hobby I hike on all the trails in the Town of East Hampton. I still have yet to hike on every one of them because there are so many. I’m not a member of the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society, but I really should be because I’m a major hiker. Another thing I love to do, when I’m in Amagansett I love walking down Town Lane, past the farm fields. Like Balsam [Farms] that is still there, and those people are hopefully never going to sell. I love walking past all the farms out here that still exist, thank god.
Favorite fishing spot Every Saturday morning for July and August I go out to Montauk and get on my friend’s boat at Star Island Yacht Club (59 Star Island Road, 631-668-5052) and go fishing out by Block Island.
What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught? Striper. We did try to catch tuna because there are tuna around. You don’t have to go that far offshore to catch one, yet we’ve been striking out. But I think this summer we’ll catch them, so that’ll be the biggest!
