A Salute to O'Murphy's in Montauk

O’Murphy’s the family pub and restaurant that was a staple of my existence in Montauk when I lived there year round has closed its doors. It was a victim of a landlord’s desire to maximize his profits by gambling on a new tenet for more money than a great one for less money.

Where do I begin? I was there when Jan and Chet Kordasz arrived in Montauk having left their Vail. Colorado Mexican restaurant business to buy O’Murphy’s. I was the cub reporter for the Montauk Pioneer and was assigned to go see who these folks were. What I found were two hard working professional restaurateurs who knew how to handle employees, locals and tourists. They cared about the food, the service, the cleanliness and most of all, keeping up the tradition of O’Murphy’s remaining a hometown staple in the village of Montauk, all year round

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Over the last decade there were nights when I was the only dude in the place and others when there was an hour plus wait. I sang hundreds of hours worth of karaoke songs there under the supervision of Jim LaGarenne and “Diva” Helen M. McGuire. It actually was the first place in Montauk I brought Cindi, the woman who is now my wife, to meet all the locals and watch me sing.

I ate there at least once a week and had my share of beers there. That said, it is sad that lease “greed or opportunity” is always at play in the Hamptons that now includes what was once called the “UnHamptons,” Montauk.

I suppose my friends who seek the best rental deal for the most money for their properties each season see this issue from both sides but I only see it from one. Chet and Jan cared for the their clientele, cared about Montauk and quite frankly took good care of me, when I was a struggling lowly paid writer for the large free weekly magazine founded by a Montauk local over 50 years ago. They were like family when while my own was hundreds of miles away.

For those who say Montauk is changing and not for the better, I suppose this might be a clear example. But, Chet and Jan are a success couple and prudent business people. O’Murphy’s will re-emerge somewhere in Montauk, and that’s what’s best about Montauk, that being the people who live and work there all year round are not quitters, but hard working fighters.