Ted Conklin Remembered for Restoring The American Hotel in Sag Harbor
Ted Conklin, the restaurateur and hotelier who restored The American Hotel in Sag Harbor — once a run-down property that he turned into one of the Hamptons’ most sought-after destinations — died following a battle with bladder cancer on Feb. 1. He was 77.
Theodore Brigham Conklin III was born on April 16, 1948 in Manhattan, the first of five to Theodore B. Conklin Jr. and Natalie Jourdan O’Brien. The son of an heir to the T.E. Conklin Brass & Copper Co. and descendant of immigrants who helped settle Huntington and Greenwich, Conn., his immediate family later moved the family to Manhasset before making their home in the Hamptons. He attended Babson College in Massachusetts before finding his way into the restaurant business.
“In sophomore year, I enrolled and bought the texts,” he told Wine Spectator in 2007. “Then, for reasons that still puzzle me, I leased a space near my home on Long Island and proceeded to build a restaurant. It was ready to open after the exams the next spring. By Labor Day, I was looking at a thriving business with 50 employees, all of whom had to leave to return to college.”
His claim to fame was the three-story landmark built in 1846 on Main Street, a former boarding house that Conklin bought in 1972 and turned around after decades of neglect. He literally had to shovel coal dust out of the basement one bucket at a time. Now the cellar holds thousands of bottles of fine wine. In 1981 the hotel won Wine Spectator’s Grand Award for the restaurant’s superb wine list. It was also known for discreetly welcoming a bevy of celebrity clientele.
He is survived by his wife Susie Franklin, daughters Samantha Brooks Conklin and Natasha Davey Conklin, son Theodore B. Conklin IV, stepdaughter Katy O’Donnell, five grandchildren, as well as sisters Susan Spurgeon, Natalie Jourdan Conklin, Louise Cox Conklin and Kimberley Burnett Conklin.
Memorial services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Old Whalers’ Church and from 2:30–5:30 p.m. at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sag Harbor Food Pantry, PO Box 3191, Sag Harbor, NY 11963; or to Fighting Chance, PO Box 1358, Sag Harbor, NY 11963.
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