VILLAGE PEOPLE
Douglas Elliman broker Maria Mendelsohn focuses on luxury and fine equestrian properties, but when she’s out East, Sag Harbor is her village of choice.
What makes Sag Harbor your favorite town? Sag Harbor is salty and wonderful. The Village creates a community, a place filled with colors and character. Are you from the Hamptons or did you come from away? I come from St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where the sense of village and groundedness is a main ingredient. What’s the best place to get lunch in Sag Harbor? Cavaniola’s Kitchen. I get the prosciutto, brie, and apple on a fresh baguette with homemade potato chips and their delicious homemade lemonade. I take it to Marine Park, overlooking the marina, and sit in the grass under a tree. And what’s your favorite dinner spot? The people who own Sen think the way I do about my business: they do a few things really well instead of doing a lot of things. They spend the time and money to bring the best chefs over from Japan—it’s the real deal. Where do you most like to spend a few hours relaxing? Trout Pond, or an offthe-path swimming hole. I love it because it’s wild. It’s not so cultivated or engineered or refined. What is it about real estate in the Hamptons that gives you an inside view of the area? In Sag Harbor, there are people who have owned things through generations. I learn about the area because I deal with the original people who have been here forever. It’s like an onion—you keep peeling off the layers and you’ll get to the center. 561-758-1605; mariamendelsohn.com
“IN SAG HARBOR, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE OWNED THINGS THROUGH GENERATIONS.” — MARIA MENDELSOHN