The four-day Shinnecock Indian Powwow returns Sept. 4-7 with Native American dancing, drumming, arts, food,… Read More →
John and Kelley Piccinnini, who planned to revive the longtime Corner Bar while preserving its… Read More →
From comedy and live music to art, culture and one of the East End’s biggest… Read More →
John Paulson and Alina de Almeida were honored with the 2026 Champion of the Arts… Read More →
Photographs from Marilyn Monroe’s legendary final portrait sessions, shot just six weeks before her death,… Read More →
From live music and Montauk waterfront parties to East Hampton brunch and North Fork wine… Read More →
Steve Guttenberg talks career, family, and the values that never go out of style as… Read More →
The Netflix comedy, executive produced by Michelle Obama, is set to film at The Pridwin,… Read More →
The summer crowds may be heading west, but the East End isn’t closing up shop.… Read More →
Amid a bitter members’ civil war, Devon Yacht Club’s kitchen just got hit with an… Read More →
The Corner in Sag Harbor Faces New Uncertainty as Clam Bar Owners Exit Restaurant Project
John and Kelley Piccinnini, who planned to revive the longtime Corner Bar while preserving its local character, have parted ways with the ownership group after a delayed summer opening. A new operator is now being sought for 2027.
Sag Harbor’s beloved Corner Bar was supposed to get a new chapter this summer. Instead, its future is once again uncertain.
John and Kelley Piccinnini, the owners of Amagansett favorites The Clam Bar and Sette Coffee, are no longer involved with The Corner, the new incarnation of the nearly 50-year-old Sag Harbor gathering spot at 1 Main St.
The couple had planned to reopen the restaurant in August, keeping much of the spirit of the Corner Bar while giving the longtime local institution a refresh. The announcement of their involvement earlier this year was generally greeted as good news by locals who were concerned about what might replace one of the village’s most familiar watering holes.
But an anticipated Aug. 8 opening never happened.
The restaurant held two friends-and-family preview days in early August before the opening was postponed, with no new date announced. As the weeks passed, questions began circulating around Sag Harbor about when — or whether — The Corner would open.
On Thursday, the Piccinninis confirmed they had left the project.
“We are incredibly proud of the vision we developed and brought to life at The Corner, and we are grateful to the Sag Harbor community for so warmly welcoming us,” the couple said in a statement. “Ultimately, the parties’ visions for The Corner were not aligned and we made the difficult decision to part ways.” — the Piccinninis
They said they will now refocus their attention on The Clam Bar and Sette Coffee in Amagansett.
The ownership group behind 1 Main St. said it remains committed to operating The Corner and is searching for another tenant.
“Ownership came into the project with great respect for the Corner Bar’s history and the role 1 Main St. has played to Sag Harbor for generations,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “It remains committed to the community and intends to keep The Corner active.”
The group said it hopes to have a new full-time tenant and operator in the space by spring 2027, “if not sooner.”
More Than Another Restaurant Opening
For Sag Harbor, what happens next at The Corner carries particular weight.
The village has long balanced its popularity as a Hamptons destination with the year-round character that made it distinctive in the first place. As Main Street and the surrounding business district continue to change, the arrival of higher-priced concepts and businesses with footprints beyond the East End has fueled an ongoing conversation about whether Sag Harbor can evolve without losing the independent restaurants, shops and gathering places that have defined it.
The Corner Bar was one of those places.
Opened by Jim Smyth in 1978, the restaurant remained a fixture at the prominent Main Street corner for nearly five decades. Smyth ran it until his death in 2017 at age 66. The restaurant continued under a trust established for his widow, Margaret Smyth, until closing Feb. 8 following an emotional farewell.
Over the years, its crowd included generations of locals, visitors, musicians and familiar East End faces. Singer-songwriter Nancy Atlas once worked there as a server, and musicians including Vince Gill were among those known to stop in.
When the Piccinninis emerged as the new operators, they appeared to offer something of a bridge between old and new Sag Harbor. They renamed the restaurant The Corner as a nod to its history and spoke openly about respecting what the place had meant to the community while updating it for its next chapter.
John Piccinnini called taking it over “an honor” when the project was announced.
Now, after months of anticipation and an opening that came close enough for invited guests to walk through the doors, that chapter is over before it officially began.
Neither the Piccinninis nor the ownership group has offered additional details about what led to the split.
For now, one of Sag Harbor’s most recognizable corners is waiting once again for what comes next.
