NYC Sardi's Owners Owned Southold NY Property!

By Danny McCarthy
Vincent Sardi had property in Southold and I'm writing an article about it! Stubs Preview Club (Group Sales Box Office) where I got hired by the President, Ronnie Lee, after I graduated from college, was located a few floors above Sardi’s Restaurant in the same building at 234 West 44th Street!
I’m Not Handing You the “Third Degree!”
As a Southold Town Hall part-time employee in the Records Management department, I was able to learn that the Town of Southold Laserfiche {website} includes listings of deeds of parcels Vincent Sardi Senior bought and sold in the Kenny’s Road area. They are actually on Hyatt Rd.
September 30, 1948 was the first possession of ownership that Mr. Sardi had while he was residing in Manhasset {Nassau County} New York. Then came another Indenture dated September 14, 1953.
{An Indenture from the Southold Town Hall Laserfiche dated November 17, 1970 shows that Vincent Sardi Junior while he was residing in Manhattan had himself an exchange of a “tract of land or parcel at Horton’s Point …”}
On November 6, 1975, there was yet another Indenture listing that involved: “… BEING and intended to be the same premises conveyed to VINCENT SARDI, SR. by deed dated the 14th day of September, 1953 and recorded with the Clerk of Suffolk County.”
That November 6, 1975 Indenture also reads: “BEGINNING at a point on the northeasterly line of Horton' s Land {“Land” was a typo. It should have been “Lane”} 25 feet southeasterly along said line from the point of beginning of the curve in said line as recently altered; running thence on a curve to the left whose radius is 25 feet, and whose center is the point of' ourve {That was a typo too – it should have been “curve”}in said line of Horton's Lane, a distance on said curve of 39. 27 feet; thence westerly on a curve to the left and parallel to the northerly line of Horton' s Lane and at all points distant 25 feet therefrom, a distance on said cuPve {This should have been typeset as “curve.”} of 87. 54 feet; thence through beach land now or formerly of Walter E. Hyatt, three courses, …”
The May 12, 1949 The Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watchman’s front page featured quite a lengthy article about some Southold properties being built. As a matter of fact, that article’s closing reads and I quote: “There are others which we have failed to mention, which all goes to prove that Southold is enjoying a real building boom.”
The beginning portion of this article concerns two property purchases in Southold. One of them happened to be “one of New York’s most famous restaurateurs {who} has begun construction on the residence of the Hyatt property just west of Horton’s Point.” It was New York City’s Vincent Sardi! At the time of the property purchase that May 1949, Mr. Sardi was in Europe and “{planned} a house that {was to be} available for year-round living.”
“One of the world’s foremost linen merchants of the world” at that time in 1949 was Howard Toedter. Mr. Toedter’s linen business had its “headquarters in New York and branches in Paris and other European cities.” During this time, Mr. Toedter was “erecting a California ranch-type house.” Mr. Toedter’s then Southold property purchase was located “adjoining the property where Mr. Sardi’s home {was} being erected.”
Money Makes the World Go Around - {And Builds a Home Too!}
Those two homes were rumored to “cost considerably over one hundred thousand dollars.”
It Truly “Pays” to Do Research!
In going online, I was able to locate an online entry of a booklet entered as a pdf of “MURPHY BRINKWORTH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY {located at} 217 East 80th Street New York, N.Y.” stating “The following is a partial listing of jobs recently constructed by us:”
Within this “saved” online pdf is a Location listing of Southold. L.I. carrying the name of the Owner separately as Vincent Sardi AND Howard A. Toedter. The particular Job was New Residence. The Architect was Ketchum, Gina & Sharp.
Making the News – Well, The Long Island Traveler Mattituck Watchman
The August 7, 1958 The Long Island Traveler Mattituck Watchman included the Summer Social Scoop By Ruth Neslage {spotlighting a} Horton’s Point column in which there is a “relative entry”: “Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Sardi, Jr., and their children, Tabatha, Paul and David, from New York City, are spending several days at Mr. Sardi’s parents home at Horton’s Point. Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Sardi, Sr. have just returned to their home in New York City, after spending several days at their home at Horton’s Point.”
What’s Cooking? {So to Speak!} – Folks Were “Bugging Out!”
The January 9, 1975 Long Island Traveler – Mattituck Watchman ran Legal Notices on PAGE TWENTY-SIX: “SOUTHOLD General description of property whereon the Suffolk County Dept, of Health Services, Bureau of Vector Control, proposes to enter for the purpose of the elimination of all mosquito breeding sites, as provided by Section No. 1525 of the Public Health Laws of the State of New York.”
Included in the entries for District 5 Southold were: “… Agway Inc., Clara Lang, Samuel Levine & Wife, Henry B. Lytele & Wife, Pine Crest Dunes Inc., Ida Poliwoda, W .J. Pollert & Wife, Helmut Hass, Methodist Episcopal Church of Southold, Florence Moffat, Carl Reiter & Wife, Claus Robohm & Wife, Vincent Sardi, John Scott & Wife, Isabel Shannon …”
Just for the Sake of It …
Here is an online link from the findagrave.com website honoring Vincent Sardi Sr:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6773165/vincent-sardi
Let’s Truly Keep It in the Family! – Bravo{!} to This
AND here too is another findagrave.com website link truly saluting Vincent Sardi Jr. This particular website link also features information in a sort-of “Who’s Who” with an entry about Vincent Sardi Sr where the full discussion of the history of Sardi’s lists that the present Sardi’s general manager is Sean Ricketts. Sean Ricketts is the grandson of Vincent Sardi Junior {!!!}:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92497063/vincent-edward-sardi
My mom worked at P.S. 178Q {Queens} on Radnor Road in Jamaica Estates, New York {which is where our family lived - in Jamaica Estates, NY]. She designed Ben Franklin Associates - a class where she taught youngsters how to write & then have their writings published. There was an actual printing machine in my mom's P.S. 178Q office to take care of that. ~ Ronnie Lee's children were in my mom's Ben Franklin Associates' classes. ~ RONNIE LEE was the second Prince Chulalongkorn cast in the 1950s THE KING AND I starring YUL BRYNNER. Ronnie and his family lived in Jamaica, NY. He knew me all my life. As-a-matter-of-fact - Ronnie would keep-in-touch with me. I'd get to give him updates about my collection - let him know just which professional personally replied back to me - While I was on-staff at my IONA College newspaper {"The Ionian"}, Ronnie requested too for me to follow-through by notifying him of "The Ionian" articles I had written. Ronnie hired me to begin to work for him after my June 1982 IONA College graduation at his STUBS PREVIEW CLUB-Group Sales Box Office. I was going to be "On-Broadway" -

I was not "shocked" to learn that Ronnie Lee's daughter, Stephanie Lee, became the President and CEO of Broadway's Group Sales Box Office, Inc. The business does seem to run in the family - and Ronnie was such a pure joy for me {truly!}to have had the chance of my working professionally on Broadway with him for a bit of time - and I thank you so much Ronnie!

Freedom of the Press ...
I did make contact with Sean Ricketts in hopes of him possibly being able to provide a photo of one of the Southold houses either one of the Sardis owned for me to add-to my article.