3 millennials keeping Montauk restaurant, shop and motel in the family

In recent years investors have been buying up longtime mom-and-pop businesses in Montauk for millions, as the once-sleepy fishing village grows in popularity among jet-setters and wealthy homebuyers. But a small group of residents — all in their 30s and childhood friends — have taken over their family businesses to ensure they stay that way.

The trio says, yes, money does talk in Montauk today, but they’re not listening when it comes to selling the staples they grew up in. And they’re committed to seeing that the old, quaint Montauk doesn’t completely disappear.
In this group are Gray Gardell-Gross, owner of The Gig Shack; Alexis Engstrom, Montauk T-Shirts owner; and Leo Daunt, general manager of Daunt’s Albatross Motel and the new president of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce.

"I think it’s wonderful," said the 66-year-old former chamber of commerce president, Paul Monte, who held that position for 18 years, and was a longtime general manager and CEO of Gurney’s Inn, Resort and Spa in Hither Hills.

"There’s no doubt over time everything changes, and Montauk is no different, but we’ve been able to keep a [slower] ‘Montauk time pace' " Monte said. "It’s always had a family feel and heritage, and I love the fact of passing on the torch to a younger generation. They can keep the feel of old Montauk, but their youth and energy allow them to be contemporary and relevant" businesses.

Here’s a look at these young preservationists:

GRAY GARDELL-GROSS, 34, OWNER OF THE GIG SHACK

During the early days of the pandemic, a paper napkin deal was struck for two local business owners to buy 668 The Gig Shack — a popular beachy-vibe restaurant on Main Street in Montauk known for its comfort food, cheery atmosphere, and vibrant décor. It was opened by Gray Gardell-Gross’ mother, Tracey, in 2005.

"My parents were ready to sell unless one of us started paying attention," said Gray Gardell-Gross of himself and his two siblings. The youngest child of Tracey and now-retired dentist Lewis Gardell-Gross had been thinking of starting a wholesale duck confit and chicken wing business with friend Leo Daunt, but instead decided to step up to keep the Gardell-Gross’ eatery in the family.

Four years ago, the New York City-born Gray Gardell-Gross became owner of The Gig Shack and he says he’s glad he did. All the Gardell-Gross kids started out at the restaurant scooping ice cream, and he had been head chef there since he was 19. "My mom taught us to cook, and my friend, Ron and I used to cook all night after parties," Gray Gardell-Gross said.

Gray Gardell-Gross is comfortable being the boss.

"Even the staff says, ‘It’s not the same when you’re not around,’ ” Gray Gardell-Gross said. "My general manager said I should do it — take the next step and be in charge." He added, "It would’ve been such a real shame to lose all these people who’ve come here for years and run away from them."

Gray’s brother, Skylar, 38, works sometimes as a host, and brother Arden, 39, opened Little Fish in 2023 — a Southold restaurant featuring coastal cuisine.

These days Tracey Gardell-Gross, 69, eats dinner at The Gig Shack "more than I’d like to admit," and some of her locally famous homemade desserts are featured on the menu. Her husband, 71, spends his time now growing micro beans.

"They let me back on the menu," Tracey Gardell-Gross quipped. "I still help out in the pastry section." That involves making her signature Key lime pie and cheesecake, and she's working on a chocolate chip cookie pie.

Going to the restaurant with one of her kids running it gives Tracey Gardell-Gross a tremendous sense of pride, and relief — that it’s still all in the family, she said — and it’s turned into an improved restaurant with son, Gray, at the helm.

Tracey Gardell-Gross said she had become "exhausted" with running such a busy restaurant. She had considered selling The Gig Shack because Gray had thought of going into the other business, and her other two children were taking other paths.

"There’s tremendous reward and pride in seeing something you started still going, but always in the back of your mind you don’t want to see [your child] trapped into something," Tracey Gardell-Gross said. "He inherited a business that isn’t anything like the business he grew up in. He’s done an amazing job picking up the gauntlet and making it a bigger beast and smoother runner than I ever did."

ALEXIS ENGSTROM, 32, OWNER, MONTAUK T-SHIRTS

Even when Alexis Engstrom was too little to see over the checkout counter in her mother’s shop, she knew she wanted to have her mom’s life one day — and it seems her wish is on its way to coming true.

Alexis’ 66-year-old mother, Kathleen Engstrom, sold her Buick Skylark in 1983 to purchase Montauk T-Shirts for $5,000. She ran the store by herself until Alexis and her siblings — twin Ariel and brother, Leif, 36 — came along.

"I’ve had a perfect life — and I still do," said Kathleen Engstrom, as customers squeezed their way around the approximately 300-square-foot shop. "I have a house in Montauk and a home in Puerto Rico for the offseason." Her always-dressed-for-the beach outfit, surfer’s deep tan, and sun-kissed curly hair are further evidence much of her life has been a day at the beach.

Alexis Engstrom now owns the store. Her mother still works there when she’s in town for the summer, and her daughter is planning to have houses in Montauk and Puerto Rico, just like mom.

"I always made them work at the store as they grew and I got busier and needed help here," Kathleen Engstrom said of her children. "Ariel and I would always butt heads, but Alexis would like to come in and help and she picked up things quickly," starting with folding clothes around age 5. "And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve wanted one of my kids to take over — physically I’m not as strong as I used to be, and she was the best pick."

About 12, Alexis Engstrom really got down to business. She began working at the store from 2 to 10 p.m. seven days a week for around $9 an hour.

"I just loved my mom’s lifestyle, so it became a natural" to work at her store, said Alexis Engstrom, a former surf instructor.
It’s important the family business remains in the family, both mother and daughter said, and that the shop, like Montauk, retains its character but at the same time keeps up with the times.

"A lot about the product is the same, and some of the customers from 40 years ago still come in," Alexis Engstrom said. "But we still have to keep up with the trends — my mom knows what the older generation wants, and I know what the younger generation wants." They both design shirts sold at the shop.

Alexis Engstrom never wants to see designer stores lining the streets of Montauk.

"Montauk is just changing so much, that to keep it a local business you have to keep it strong and not give in to someone who wants to buy it for lots of money," Alexis Engstrom said. "My block is entirely local and our landlord is in Montauk," she noted of the Carl Fisher Plaza shop. "This is what I want to do forever. I love coming to work every day."

LEO DAUNT, 31, GENERAL MANAGER, DAUNT'S ALBATROSS MOTEL

Leo Daunt wanted to become a college history professor, but shifted to something related but less broad. He’s making a career of helping to preserve the history of his family, and that of Montauk back in the day.

Daunt is general manager of Daunt’s Albatross Motel — built in 1958, and purchased in 1976 by his grandparents, Rich ("Poppy") Daunt, and his late wife, Frances, known as "Meme."

When the couple bought the property it was named the Albatross Inn, and across the street was the Albatross Café, but they passed on purchasing the café, and renamed the inn "Daunt’s Albatross." The 24-room motel opened for business in 1977.

"My cousins and siblings would always be here … we'd throw each other into the pool. And we’d get 5 cents per cigarette butt we picked up from the ground, and 10 cents for folding brochures," the now towering, 6-foot-3 Daunt remembered as he walked the grounds. "The whole exterior [of the motel] was red, and it was an amazing place, but a little more old school."

Daunt said his grandfather, a retired Nassau County police officer who moved to Florida, was technically in charge of the South Elmwood Avenue motel when he and his wife purchased it, but it was really his grandmother who ran the place. The couple lived upstairs in an apartment Leo Daunt now lives in, and it was Meme who would regularly walk the exterior areas of the property dressed in her red-and-white bathrobe — teacup in hand — to chat with guests and make sure they had everything they needed.

Mostly families from out of town stayed there, but when Rich Daunt would invite his cop friends for a weekend, the normally laid-back atmosphere of the motel changed to that of a party headquarters. "We sold our house in Seaford to buy the motel," Rich Daunt said. "A group would come out there and take over the entire place."

Grandson Leo became general manager in 2018 and three years later hired the Brooklyn-based design firm, Home Studios, to come up with an "intentional" renovation plan that would give the motel a fresher, more modern look, but retain its character and give a nod to Montauk past. Regulars from over the years were asked their ideas for the refurbishing.

"We took their feedback into account instead of trying to push them out," Leo Daunt said. "There are people who have been coming here for two to three decades … families that started off as young couples and got married, and now they’re grandparents.

"We put in comfy beds and linens, soundproofing, planted grass in the pool area, and added firepits," Daunt said. "Every night at 6 p.m. there's free s’mores."

Room rates have changed as well, from about $20 a night during the ‘70s to $400 to $500 for a weeknight.

"He has upgraded that thing right up to the top," Rich Daunt said proudly. "I never thought this could happen. I don’t even understand how to check anyone in anymore" because of the technology used.

In May 2022 Daunt spread his wings and bought Bird on the Roof, a restaurant across the street, saying that harkens back to the time when the café was related to the motel. Renovations there were done with the past in mind by the same Brooklyn firm.

"This was first passed to my father, Jimmy, who ran it for another 20 years, now it’s a third-generation business," Leo Daunt said of the motel. "There’s a lot of emotion there. It’s important I run it and pass it to the next generation."

Skylar and Gary Gardell-Gross are brothers. A previous version of this story was incorrect.