Gansett Green Manor Looks For A New Steward

It was hard to miss a pair of girls who set up a lemonade stand by the Hampton Jitney stop in Amagansett over the last few years. The girls’ families stay at the Gansett Green Manor, where the line for the bus snakes in front during the busy summer months on the South Fork.The hotel’s owners, Leslie and Jed Feldman, welcome the girls’ entrepreneurship, and even helped supply them tables to build the lemonade stand. It’s been part of the Feldmans’ stewardship mission to make guests feel at home at the 300-year-old, historic property.

But the Shelter Island couple are looking to move on to the next chapter of their lives—Gansett Green Manor has been put on the market.

Mr. Feldman is hoping to revive his jazz talents on city streets somewhere in Mexico. He got started in the hospitality business in New York City, playing the saxophone. After a short siesta, Ms. Feldman, a professional chef, wants to teach the culinary arts.

Situated at 273 Main Street, Gansett Green Manor has been in Ms. Feldman’s family since 1993, when her brother, Gary Kalfin, bought the property before his unexpected death. The Feldmans—restaurateurs popular in the area for the Pizza Place in Bridgehampton—took over in 2013.

“We attract a family- and pet-friendly crowd here,” Mr. Feldman said sitting at the dining room table in a quaint, rustic cottage. “It’s not the current Montauk nightlife scene.”

“Living inside one of these sweet, little cottages for the summer, it’s kind of like owning a home away from home without all of the responsibilities of homeownership,” Ms. Feldman said. “We try to keep everything here—all of the provisions and appliances are here on the property—so that way they don’t have to go out to the masses and deal with the crowds on the East End in the high season.”

The property was a long-established hotel and wedding venue before Mr. Kalfin purchased it. The manor took on a new look, subbing out wicker furniture and moving a dilapidated school bus from out of the backyard. “Between Gary’s, and now our, stewardship, we’ve elevated significantly the aesthetic, what is offered and the overall condition of the property,” Ms. Feldman said.

It’s a short walk to Amagansett restaurants and shops. Guests may check out a bicycle and a fully stocked beach bag from the front desk—the Atlantic Ocean is about a mile away. Sometimes, guests just want to enjoy the acre field on the property.

Gansett Green Manor operates as a typical hotel would, with Memorial Day to Labor Day being the busiest time of year. Long-term leases are signed from October through May for guests who live on the campus through the wintertime. It’s also a popular wedding destination—accommodating up to 250 people, and lodging 35—for a weekend between June and September.

There’s evidence that the five quaint standalone cottages are, in fact, centuries old, with low ceilings and charming wooden beams. The furnishings, which were acquired from estate sales across the Twin Forks, have an early-American aesthetic to them in neutral warm colors and fabrics.

The premier accommodations are the Captains Quarters: a three-bedroom, two-bathroom cottage includes a living room, dining room and modest kitchen. The master bedroom is en suite.

There is a two-bedroom cottage—the guest room with twin beds—and two studio cottages.

The master suite of the Innkeepers Cottage is often where bridal parties get ready for the big day. The two-story, 125-year-old farmhouse on the street of the nearly 2-acre property, includes a large first-floor living room area, a fireplace, a dining room and kitchen. Between the master and guest room upstairs as well as the arrangements on the main floor, the cottage sleeps six. The building was actually a private residence that the Feldmans acquired and turned into accommodations. The manor’s iconic red sign hangs out front near an outdoor porch.

A barn has four one-bedroom studios and four one-bedroom suites on the first and second floors.

Down a pebble walkway to the back of the property, and past the cottages’ outdoor sitting and dining areas, is a white archway that frames a tall tree on the other side of an open field where soon-to-be newlyweds say their vows. Farmland surrounds the venue on three sides.

A hidden garden one-bedroom suite is tucked away near the road, too.

“We have put years into this,” Mr. Feldman said. “We’ve been here full-time for five years plus, but we have a hospitality past dating back to the ’70s and the ’80s.”

“We are ready to start pampering ourselves, instead of our guests,” Ms. Feldman said.

The asking price is just shy of $7 million, represented by Sotheby’s International Realty.