George's Lighthouse Cafe Is A Fresh Addition To Historic Montauk Point

A new restaurant at Montauk Point proves that success can be born out of misfortune.

It was 2006 when Michael Torriero’s girlfriend broke up with him because he wouldn’t take her on a picnic. Though he lost his girlfriend, he came up with a new business venture: a picnic basket delivery and catering concept in Central Park.

“I just thought about the idea of a picnic in the park, and thought it would be a fun business to start,” he recalled. “I started to figure out what was the quickest way to scale, how I could become something like Tavern on the Green—how I could be full time in the park.”

Picnic in the Park came to fruition in 2013. Years later, the entrepreneur had his eyes set on doing business in Long Island.

Mr. Torriero started bidding on dozens of government contracts, but lost them all until 2016 when he won a contract in Montauk out of sheer luck.

“We bid on the contract ourselves and lost,” he explained. “But then the previous owner shut down his business, so they put his contract in Montauk out to bid again and we ended up winning it.”

George’s Lighthouse Cafe, located beside the Montauk Lighthouse in Montauk Point, is run slightly differently from the average restaurant startup. The establishment is in a public-use facility owned by New York State.

“The best way to think about it is that they’re my investor,” Mr. Torriero explained. The state provided the asset, and he operates it and pays the state when the business makes money.

George’s Lighthouse Cafe, named after George Washington, who commissioned the Montauk Lighthouse during his presidency, is one of three brick-and-mortar locations that are run under Picnic in the Park Montauk LLC, in addition to the General Store and Beach Shack at Hither Hills State Park.

While a seafood restaurant adjacent to the historic Montauk Lighthouse is bound to bring in customers, Mr. Torriero acknowledged that there are some restrictions that come with operating a business in a facility owned by the state.

“It’s a public-use facility, so I can’t shut down for private events,” he explained “It’s not mine to take away from the public from sunrise to sunset, all year-round.”

Mr. Torriero said that his staff is what sets George’s Lighthouse Cafe apart from the rest.

“It’s challenging in that Montauk is in a housing crisis, so it’s difficult to get large quantities of staff,” he said. “We’re very, very fortunate that we have some of the best staff around. … The staff really support us a lot.”

The restaurant has a mission to employ mostly local people as a way of building the East End community.

“I always say that our first responsibility is to benefit the community, then us,” Mr. Torriero said. “We’re hoping to be a positive addition to the community, and I want to emphasize that this isn’t my doing, it’s the staff’s doing.

George’s Lighthouse Cafe will have live music every weekend from 5 to 9 p.m., including the Nancy Atlas Band on Fridays, Kate Usher and the Sturdy Souls on Saturdays and the Waylan Brothers on Sundays. The restaurant will also host a bartending competition in late July with local businesses which will compete for a championship belt, an idea Mr. Torriero came up with after spending years working with the New York City wrestling nonprofit Beat the Streets.

While the George’s Lighthouse Cafe’s deck overlooks the Block Island Sound and Montauk Lighthouse, part of the restaurant’s charm is its cozy indoor fireplace, complete with wooden rocking chairs, for a warm Montauk atmosphere even if the weather turns sour.

“It’s not just a place you come to when it’s nice out,” Mr. Torriero said. “It’s the best place to spend your time on a rainy day in Montauk, without question.”