Former Zum Schneider Beer Garden Building Is Bought; Sel Rrose Opening In 2019

The building that housed a German beer garden in Montauk is under new ownership—sauerbraten is out, and a Parisian-themed oyster bar in.

Kristin Vincent, the owner of Sel Rrose in New York City, closed on the deal to buy the former Zum Schneider building on South Elmwood Avenue on September 12 for $2.75 million, according to Manhattan law firm Warshaw Burstein.

Warshaw Burstein attorney Harvey Krasner said Ms. Vincent, his client, plans to fully renovate the building and open Sel Rrose Oyster Bar and Restaurant in April 2019.

“Even today, it doesn’t even look like Zum Schneider anymore,” said Mr. Krasner—who has connections in Montauk. His son Jon Krasner is one of the new owners of Shagwong Tavern as of 2015.

While on her way into the Hamptons for the weekend, Ms. Vincent said that she’s still on the fence regarding how the restaurant will look. The building is already painted an off-white color with a metallic “Sel Rrose” sign fixed to the facade.

She said she’s toying with the idea of making it an “ironic Hamptons ’80s” motif, complete with lattice work, manicured shrubbery and a yellow-green palette.

“The oyster and raw bar will be there no matter what,” she said.

The flagship Sel Rrose on Delancey Street has offered the Lower East Side a taste of bacon-infused tequila cocktails and postwar France ambiance. There are dollar oyster nights, too—which may be honored at the new Montauk location.

Ms. Vincent owns two other Manhattan restaurants: a Williamsburg-esque dive bar called Home Sweet Home and a speakeasy named Fig. 19.

“Design comes from what I am feeling at the moment,” she said.

In 2012, Zum Schneider opened in Montauk. Chef Goesta Krings, who was trained in Germany in the Black Forest area, whipped up niche dishes like HAX’N, a pork shank braised for several hours served in dark gravy, cabbage and serviettenknödel—Bavarian bread dumplings—with the choice of 12 different German beers on tap.

With Ms. Vincent, the entire atmosphere of the dining destination is sure to change. The biergarten tables that Zum Schneider owner Sylvester Schneider built with his own hands would be subbed out for Parisian furnishings.

“Sylvester and I have become great friends. He’s taken me under his wing and made me feel at home in Montauk,” Ms. Vincent said. “I promised to always keep one of his German beers on tap, let one of his German bands play maybe once a month, and have a German homage to honor the building’s past somewhere in my new restaurant.”