Award-Winning NYC Chef Brings Talents To Sound View In Greenport

GREENPORT, NY — It's the dawn of a new day at the Sound View in Greenport — as the restaurant welcomes a new, award-winning chef from New York City and is slated to reopen under a new name, The Halyard.

The Levin family, who owned the hotel and eatery for decades, sold the Sound View inn and restaurant in 2016; the business is now owned by Eagle Point Hotel Partners and operated by Filament Hospitality.

And now the restaurant, a longtime destination on the North Fork known for its spectacular sunsets and waterfront seating, will reopen with James Beard award-winning chef Galen Zamarra, owner of Mas (farmhouse) in New York City.

Zamarra will oversee the food and beverage program at Sound View, including a waterfront restaurant called The Halyard that is slated to serve seafood and American classics, as well as a piano bar and lounge, pool and beach bar and private event space, a release said.

"Halyard’s menu embodies the property’s nautical geography and history with fresh produce, seafood and wine from the North Fork and Atlantic Seaboard. Highlights include interpretations of American 'retro' classics and seafood offerings like lobster beignets, duck cassoulet and whole grilled fish," the release said.

The newly renovated property was designed by Brooklyn-based firm Studio Tack (Casay Bonay, Brentwood, Anvil), and "is reminiscent of the golden era of motels, with touches of New England modernism and nautical undertones that nod to the town’s fishing and boating history," according to a release. The property includes 55 guest rooms, various waterfront dining and drinking venues, an outdoor pool and private beach, recreation and wellness facilities, and event spaces with well-known, dramatic views of the Long Island Sound.

When owners Rachel Levin Murphy and Ellen Levin Wiederlight sold the Inn and restaurant, they posted a message on the business’ Facebook page, announcing the news.

“It is with mixed feelings that we announce the sale of the Sound View Restaurant and Sound View Inn, our beautiful resort property overlooking Long Island Sound in Greenport, New York. The enterprise has been in our family since 1953, when our parents, Jack and Donna Levin, built the Sound Shore Motel and then purchased the Sound View restaurant in 1968.

“It is with joy and pleasure that we announce the name of the purchaser of the Sound View Restaurant and Inn as Eagle Point Hotel Partners LLC, a company with an excellent reputation as hoteliers in the Sound View tradition. Filament Hospitality Group will be overseeing daily operations,” the statement read.

“Understandably, it is with some sadness as well as pleasure that we make this announcement. . . Speaking personally, we feel blessed to have been born into a job that we have loved for our entire adult life. It has been our life, and our job. We wish our friends and new owners of the Sound View the utmost success and believe the Sound View is in good hands and will benefit the North Fork."