Hamptons residents are mourning the end of a beloved local institution. Estia’s Little Kitchen. The unassuming Mexican-style diner will be replaced by an outpost of a smoothie empire best known for its $40 acai bowl, the latest chain shop to infringe upon the area’s charm.
For nearly the past three decades, Estia’s has occupied a quaint shingled cottage on the Sag Harbor–Bridgehampton Turnpike. Last November, Estia’s owner, Colin Ambrose, put it on the market for $3.75 million. Over the weekend, SunLife Organics, a California-based smoothie biz with 20 outlets nationwide, closed on the property.
The health chain is known for its “billion dollar smoothie.” The pricey liquid meal is beloved by Instagram influencers and costs $33 — more than most entrees at Estia’s, which consistently priced meals under $20.
For residents who went to Estia’s multiple times a week for years, it’s a crushing turn of events.
“I’m on the phone all day long about this … Friends have been checking in nonstop about this,” Matthew Ammiratti, who owns Bridgehampton Motoring Club, told NYNext. “It wasn’t just a restaurant, it was the place locals and weekenders came together for breakfast and lunch. Everyone had a favorite, for me the Crispy Chicken BLT. There’s really nothing else like it out here.”
The ending was also bitter. On Sunday, on what was supposed to be Estia’s last day in service, angry staffers — some of whom had worked there 15 years — walked out in protest of the sale.
SunLife Organics, a smoothie chain founded in Malibu in 2011, has a cult following that rivals high-end health grocer Erewhon. Kate Hudson and Kendall Jenner are known to stop by and Bella Hadid’s first job was at one of the California locations. The smoothie menu features numerous pricey add-ons like Goji berries, lotus pollen and a prebiotic GLP-1 booster.
SunLife has yet to set an opening date, but given the amount they probably spent on the property, they will likely want to start recouping their investment as soon as possible. They did not respond to a request for comment.
The news is striking a nerve in part because it seems to be part of a larger trend: The entire East End is getting commercialized. Chains are creeping into hamlets that spent decades keeping them out.
Sag Harbor village — historically ruthless about what storefronts it allows — has greenlit Rag & Bone and Madewell this year, on top of a Steve Madden that opened last year.
Sources tell me Nobu is also in talks to open a location in Sag Harbor.
“Corporate is coming to Sag Harbor,” Shane Dyckman who owns popular coffee shop Sagtown said. “It’s unavoidable with the costs of rents.”
Estia’s, which stood for Established In Amagansett, was one of the last of the old school local institutions. It was open year-round — something that’s increasingly rare. A growing number of restaurants, like Duryea’s and Mary Lou’s, close for significant periods during the winter, since serving a smaller community isn’t as profitable.
“It takes a lot of grit to keep a business running year-round,” Dyckman said.
For longtime Hamptons residents, the loss of Estia’s represents more than just a restaurant closure — it’s also the loss of a space where everyone mixed.
Celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon and Jerry Seinfeld would frequent it alongside executives like Jon Gray and attorney Eddie Burke and year-round residents.
Now locals are scrambling for alternatives.
Ammiratti joked, “I’ll be having friends out on my farm, we’ll brown paper bag it and make some sandwiches to have lunch together now.”
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