Jack Levin opened a beachfront concession stand on this stretch of Long Island Sound in 1935. He called it Jack’s Shack. By 1953, he and his wife Donna had built a ten-room motel beside it — the Sound Shore — and for the next six decades, three generations of Levins expanded, renovated, cooked, poured drinks, and watched the seasons roll through Greenport like weather fronts. The Levin children grew up washing linens and busing tables. They married, raised families, and returned to the property with the devotion of people who had never really left. When Rachel Levin Murphy and Ellen Levin Wiederlight finally sold the family’s 5.5-acre Sound View complex in January 2016, their public statement carried the weight of a eulogy: they had been, they wrote, “blessed to have been born into a job that we have loved for our entire adult life” (The Suffolk Times, 2016). The buyer was Eagle Point Hotel Partners, a Manhattan-based investment firm co-founded by Erik Warner and Stephen Chan, and the promise they made to the community was specific — they would embrace what they purchased, not erase it (Northforker, 2017). The Halyard, which opened in August 2017 inside the renovated Sound View property, is the restaurant that emerged from that promise. It is also, by most credible accounts, one of the finest waterfront dining rooms on Long Island’s North Fork.
A $6 Million Resurrection on the Sound
Eagle Point’s acquisition was not a casual flip. The firm invested approximately $6 million in capital improvements between 2016 and 2017, engaging Brooklyn-based design firm Studio Tack — whose previous work included Scribner’s Catskill Lodge and the Anvil Hotel in Jackson Hole — to reimagine the entire 55-room property and its restaurant (ACRES Capital, 2019; Remodelista, 2018). Studio Tack’s design philosophy threaded New England modernism through the property’s maritime bones. The original 16-foot bar was preserved but halved and repositioned against a wall, its tufted captain-style stools reupholstered in navy leather. New oak flooring replaced dated carpeting. Walls and vaulted ceilings were painted white, exposing the structural trusses that now serve as the dining room’s most dramatic architectural feature — a skeletal canopy that recalls the ribs of an inverted hull. Chairs and benches, fabricated in collaboration with Brooklyn furniture makers Uhuru Designs, combine canvas, bent metal, and high-grade sailing rope in a vocabulary of materials drawn directly from Greenport’s shipbuilding past (Interior Design, 2022).
The renovation also preserved and reborn three distinct spaces within the property: the Piano Bar, which retains its original red-leatherette banquettes and the Sound View’s baby grand piano; the Library, a book-lined private dining room with oversized windows facing the Sound; and Jack’s Shack, the poolside bar named for the founder himself, a tribute that connects the 2017 renovation to the property’s 1935 origins. Cedar wood paneling, handwoven rope detailing, and sailcloth accents fill the guest rooms, establishing a design language that Studio Tack partner Leigh Salem described as being inspired by “the Bauhaus enclaves on Cape Cod” while honoring the region’s fishing and boat-building heritage (Remodelista, 2018). The effect is a property that feels simultaneously new and deeply rooted — precisely the tension that defines the North Fork’s cultural moment.
Galen Zamarra: A James Beard Pedigree on North Fork Soil
When Erik Warner needed a chef capable of running the Halyard’s 100-seat dining room and 40-seat seasonal deck year-round, he turned to Galen Zamarra, the James Beard Award-winning owner of Mas (farmhouse) in Greenwich Village. Zamarra, classically trained in France, had built his Manhattan reputation on micro-seasonal menus sourced from small organic farms, and his connection to the North Fork was personal long before it was professional. He met his wife Katie in Greenport while working with his friend Albert Trummer at the former Trummer Home restaurant on Main Street. During an early visit, Katie’s wedding ring slipped off her finger and tumbled down a bathroom drain at the Sound View — a detail Zamarra later joked about with contractors during the renovation, asking if anyone had checked the plumbing in Room 2 (Edible East End, 2017).
The personal history mattered because it informed the culinary philosophy. Zamarra estimated at the restaurant’s opening that more than half of the menu would be sourced from North Fork ingredients, and the years since have deepened that commitment. The kitchen works with local foragers, fishermen, and family farms to compose menus described as New England-style seafood inflected with reimagined American classics. Current dinner offerings include grilled whole porgy, lobster-stuffed pappardelle, panko-crusted cod, short rib arancini, whipped ricotta with truffles and honey, and a NY strip steak that reviewers consistently praise. The wine program pays tribute to the North Fork’s growing reputation as what some have called the “Sonoma of the East,” featuring bottles from neighboring vineyards alongside selections from farther afield (North Fork Promotional Council, 2024). Executive Chef Nathan Hitchcock now oversees day-to-day kitchen operations, carrying forward Zamarra’s seasonal ethos while introducing his own sensibility through special events like the Sparkling Pointe Wine Dinner (James Lane Post, 2025).
The Piano Bar and the Art of the Third Space
Real piano bars are vanishing from the American landscape. The Halyard has built one of the most atmospheric examples remaining on Long Island, and it functions as more than a cocktail lounge — it operates as what urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg would call a “third place,” a gathering space that exists between the obligations of home and work. The original baby grand sits beside the refurbished bar, and the programming draws from an eclectic pipeline that includes North Fork musicians, touring artists from New York City, and performers affiliated with Sid Gold’s Request Room, the celebrated piano karaoke bar in Manhattan (Sound View Greenport, 2025). On winter evenings, when the main dining room closes and service migrates to the Piano Bar and the Library, The Halyard takes on an entirely different character — intimate, warm, old-world in a way that honors the Levin family’s original vision for the property.
The cocktail program matches the setting. Bartenders work with seasonal ingredients, craft syrups, and local spirits to produce a menu that rotates with the same micro-seasonal philosophy governing the kitchen. The Piano Bar’s Fare & Cocktail Menu operates as a standalone dining option, offering a more casual range of appetizers and snacks alongside the full beverage program. For visitors accustomed to the frenetic energy of Hamptons nightlife, the Piano Bar’s atmosphere is a deliberate counterpoint — slower, more conversational, governed by music rather than volume.
The Halyard Academy: Education as Hospitality
In December 2024, Sound View Greenport launched The Academy, a culinary education program operated through The Halyard that represents one of the more ambitious off-season programming initiatives on the North Fork. The Academy comprises three distinct tracks: the Culinary Academy at Chef’s Table, the Library Wine Academy, and the Piano Bar Mixology Academy. Each offers hands-on, two-hour classes led by the restaurant’s chefs and bartenders, covering topics from caviar preparation and striped bass technique to Prohibition-era cocktail construction and sparkling wine pairings with local producers like Sparkling Pointe (Dan’s Papers, 2024; James Lane Post, 2025).
Complex Assistant General Manager Mishi Torgove framed the initiative as a response to the North Fork’s persistent seasonality problem: in winter months, when hotel occupancy drops and restaurant traffic thins, the region lacks programming to attract visitors or engage the year-round community (Dan’s Papers, 2024). The Academy addresses that gap while simultaneously deepening The Halyard’s relationship with the agricultural and culinary traditions that define the region. Zamarra himself has led classes — his caviar session drew participants ranging from Brooklyn couples on a hotel weekend to local residents seeking a date-night alternative to Netflix (Northforker, 2018). The model reflects a broader trend in hospitality toward experiential offerings that transform guests from passive consumers into active participants, and Sound View’s execution has been sharp enough to earn coverage in James Lane Post, Dan’s Papers, and regional food media.
Weddings, Events, and the Business of Memory
The Halyard’s event operation has become a significant revenue stream and reputational asset for Sound View Greenport. The restaurant accommodates seated weddings with dance floor for up to 130 guests and cocktail-style receptions for groups as large as 200, with full venue buyout options that include the Library, Piano Bar, lobby, and outdoor deck (Zola, 2025). Wedding packages start at $195 per adult for the dinner and house bar package, escalating to $225 for the premium bar tier — pricing that positions The Halyard in the upper-middle range of North Fork wedding venues while remaining accessible compared to Hamptons equivalents (Zola, 2025).
Reviews across The Knot, WeddingWire, and Zola consistently highlight the food quality, the natural beauty of the waterfront setting, and the attentiveness of the events team. Multiple couples describe receiving unprompted compliments from guests about the caliber of the catering — a rarity in the wedding industry, where food quality frequently ranks behind décor and photography in guest conversation. The private Library room, with its book-lined walls and panoramic Sound views, has emerged as a particularly popular space for rehearsal dinners, welcome parties, and intimate ceremonies of 50 or fewer. Beach ceremonies on Sound View’s private quarter-mile shoreline offer what no inland venue can replicate: the couple framed against open water, the ceremony scored by the rhythm of waves rather than speakers.
The Broader Sound View Ecosystem
Understanding The Halyard requires understanding the broader property it inhabits. Sound View Greenport is not merely a hotel with a restaurant attached; it operates as an integrated hospitality campus that includes the main Halyard dining room, the Piano Bar, the Library, Jack’s Shack poolside bar, the seasonal Low Tide beachside bar, a curated retail shop, an outdoor pool, wellness facilities, and the Academy programming. The 55 guest rooms — each with waterfront decks and private beach access — were designed by Studio Tack to evoke mid-century beachside cottages, with cedar paneling, indigo-dipped artwork by John Robshaw, and interiors that Interior Design magazine described as drawing from New England modernism popularized by Bauhaus enclaves on Cape Cod (Remodelista, 2018).
Eagle Point has continued investing in the property since the initial renovation. In 2019, ACRES Capital originated a loan to fund additional renovations to the Pebble Beach building, reconfiguring ten units and increasing the hotel’s room count by eight. The project also relocated the road in front of the property to create a quieter guest experience (ACRES Capital, 2019). Eagle Point subsequently acquired the Harborfront Inn in downtown Greenport for $9.5 million in 2019, giving the company prime waterfront lodging on both the Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay — a strategic positioning that reflects serious long-term commitment to the Greenport market (Northforker Archives, 2019). Sound View has since accumulated recognitions including TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, OpenTable’s Diner’s Choice, and Fodor’s designation as one of the best hotels in the United States.
Community, Culture, and the Uncommon Art of Staying
Erik Warner’s hospitality philosophy extends well beyond the transactional relationship between hotel and guest. A self-described advocate for community-driven hospitality, Warner has built programming at Sound View designed to embed the property into Greenport’s cultural fabric rather than merely extracting tourist dollars from it. The Uncommon Art Residency brings emerging and established artists to the property for immersive stays. The Fireside Series hosts intimate conversations with artists, designers, writers, and innovators. The Nameless Writers Salon gathers literary minds. Sunset movie nights, morning yoga on the beach, and the Beach Fire Series — an intimate weekly conversation held around a bonfire where cultural leaders discuss creativity, humanity, and the examined life — collectively position Sound View as something closer to a cultural center than a conventional hotel (Sound View Greenport, 2025).
Warner articulated the underlying ethos in an interview with HOTELS Magazine: “There is not just one layer of impact — our decisions have a ripple effect. That’s how we need to exist going forward, or we will all continue to be imbalanced in our communities” (HOTELS Magazine, 2022). For anyone who has spent 25 years operating a neighborhood institution — as I have at The Heritage Diner in Mount Sinai — that philosophy resonates deeply. The restaurants and businesses that endure are never the ones that treat their communities as markets to be captured. They are the ones that understand reciprocity: you give to the place, and the place gives back to you, compounding over decades into something that cannot be purchased or replicated.
The Halyard, anchored by its James Beard pedigree, its preserved Piano Bar, its $6 million renovation, and its evolving Academy programming, stands as evidence that the North Fork’s culinary identity is no longer defined solely by vineyard tasting rooms and summer lobster shacks. It is a year-round destination, operated by people who chose this community deliberately and have invested accordingly. Jack Levin’s concession stand is gone, but the impulse that built it — serve people well, charge a fair price, and show up every season — survives in every plate that crosses the pass at The Halyard.
Contact & Practical Information
Address: 58775 Route 48, Greenport, NY 11944
Phone: (631) 477-0666
Email: info@thehalyardgreenport.com
Website: thehalyardgreenport.com
Reservations: OpenTable
Instagram: @halyardgreenport — 20K+ followers
Sound View Hotel: soundviewgreenport.com
Events & Weddings: events@thehalyardgreenport.com or (631) 477-0666
The Halyard Academy: info@thehalyardgreenport.com
Parking: Complimentary valet parking for restaurant guests. Handicap parking available near hotel and restaurant entrances.
Hours (Current Season): The Halyard Dinner: Friday & Saturday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Monday, Thursday & Sunday, 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM | Closed Tuesday & Wednesday Piano Bar: Friday & Saturday, 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM | Monday, Thursday & Sunday, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM | Closed Tuesday & Wednesday
OpenTable Rating: 4.5/5 from 1,700+ reviews
Yelp: 288 reviews, 287 photos
TripAdvisor: 140 reviews
Capacity: 100-seat main dining room, 40-seat seasonal outdoor deck, Piano Bar, Library (private dining up to 50 guests), full venue buyout up to 200 guests
Peter holds graduate degrees in Philosophy from Long Island University and The New School in New York City. He has operated The Heritage Diner in Mount Sinai for 25 years and writes about Long Island dining, traditional craftsmanship, and North Shore culture at heritagediner.com/blog.
