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Pridwin nearing reopening

Pridwin operators have scheduled a ribbon cutting on June 17 with plans to ramp up after that to open the entire renovated and expanded complex by the July 4 weekend.

That’s the word from Glenn Petry this week, while he acknowledged dates could change.

“We are, of course, at the mercy of possible variables,” Mr. Petry said.

If there were a few hitches early in the construction timeline, they were nothing compared with the delays that ensued when COVID-19 hit.

Work remains to be done in both the main structure, cabins and events hall on the property, but it is galloping along at this point, according to spokesman Scott Currie from Anchor Communications.

The $28 million project was a major undertaking to bring the old hotel up to modern standards.

Curtis Bashaw’s Cape Resorts purchased the Pridwin in 2021 while the Petry family is remaining to operate the hotel that Dick and Edie Petry had been running since 1962, when her husband and father acquired the hotel with Paul and Dorothy Mobius.

“We are thrilled to reopen The Pridwin this summer and to be a part of the legacy that the Petrys have created over the last 50 years,” Mr. Bashaw said.

“Our family could not be more excited for this next chapter of The Pridwin,” Glenn Petry said of the relationship. ”In Curtis and his team, at Cape Resorts, we have found kindred spirits dedicated to tradition, community and service.”

He called it a collaborative effort between the family and Cape Resorts personnel.

Mr. Petry’s mother Edie had been a life-long visitor to Shelter Island and as one of its owners, she held court with regular guests flocking to visit with her and her husband Dick, year after year.

Ms. Petry died in June 2017.

A tribute to her is the decision to name the gift shop in the hotel “Edie’s.”

Returning visitors will find the restored hotel retains its charm, including three chandeliers that were reclaimed from the 1927 dining room. They have been restored and moved to the upper lobby.

Among changes brothers Glenn and Gregg Petry wanted in the restored hotel was a more accessible lobby entrance and that has been achieved. The four-story structure of the main building has guest rooms on the upper two floors with public areas on the lower two floors.

There are now 16 private cottages on the more than seven-acre property.

The aim, in addition to hosting more weddings and other special events in a new building on the property, is to operate year-round, not just seasonally.

Colleen Bashaw, Vice President of Design for Cape Resorts, directed the effort, creating a “playful, yet classic and casual” atmosphere. It has an “eclectic mix of old and new,”

“It’s important to all of us that The Pridwin still feels like somewhere people can ‘return’ to, where they can relive their fond memories while also creating new ones,” Ms. Bashaw said.

Drew Hiatt of the Topping Rose House in Bridgehampton has been hired to run the kitchen in the newly restored restaurant.

Born in Boston, he started working in restaurants as a dishwasher when he was only 13. He fell in love with New England cooking and by 18, had worked his way up to sous chef status at various New England locations , eventually bringing him to Boston where he worked at the famous Boston Harbor Hotel as a banquet chef. 

He later spent time in the Midwest where he worked in private dining clubs and the renowned Charlie Trotters in Chicago.

But his love of the East Coast eventually brought him back and he worked at Koi Restaurant and Fabrick in the Archer Hotel in New York City before moving on to the Hamptons.

In 2015, he became a sous chef at Tom Colicchio’s  restaurant, Topping Rose House, under Chef Kyle Koenig. He continued his growth  with the company, becoming chef de cuisine in January 2016 and then executive chef.