12 Jul, 2012

Topping Rose House

Posted by Stacy

Good luck making a left hand turn.

It’s been an antique shop, an art gallery, a sample sale mecca, just to name a few . The c . 1843 structure was going to be demolished. Those days are gone, the building will ultimately become an inn with a barn-turned-spa, a lap pool, conference space, and several detached guest houses. In its beginning stages, the project was contested for several zoning issues and the prospect of added congestion, welcome to doing business in the Hamptons.

Tom Colicchio is taking hospitality to the next level later this summer when he opens his first hotel: Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton, L.I.
The celebrity chef will operate the property along with its eponymous restaurant—and decide whether he wants to start a hotel empire.
“It could be the beginning of a new business for us,” said Mr. Colicchio, who founded Craft restaurants.
In the meantime, he’s hiring bellmen, housekeepers, valets and restaurant staff. Mr. Colicchio tapped veteran luxury hotelier Jeff Morgan, who has operated Caribbean resorts, to be the property’s general manager.
Built in the 1800s, the 22-room inn is owned by Simon Critchell, a former chief executive of Cartier North America, and Bill Campbell, a senior adviser at JPMorgan Chase.
“When the owners approached us to do the food, we said we wouldn’t do it unless we were running the entire operation,” said Mr. Colicchio. “We were involved in choosing everything, including the colors.”
The restaurant will use produce grown on the hotel’s one-acre farm.

The whole project will involve the main house and four cottages. “The inn is a way for me to expand into a different area of hospitality,” Colicchio says. The actual restaurant will have 85 seats, and the vegetable-focused menu will be “contemporary American leaning toward an Italian sensibility.” The team has also taken over a nearby acre of land, which they’ll use to grow their own produce.