being seen, they would do so at an Apollo-owned bar or restaurant. When the 1989 World Alpine Ski Championships arrived in the valley, Apollo was ready, with a new five-star hotel. Rowan’s firm also bought a company that made ski boots and skis, and another that manufactured snowmaking machines. In 1997, Rowan took the company public, in a deal that valued Apollo at $1.5bn. By 2007, it was worth $20bn. Rowan was said to be worth $3.4bn by 2018, and $6.5bn by 2021. He became the owner of a $43mn mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, and a $77mn penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He had a Gulfstream jet and a $100mn art collection. He had a wife and three young children, and he had Duryea’s Lobster Deck, which he wanted to turn into a high-end destination for the ultra-wealthy.“We have a lot of wealthy people here,” Bragman said. “But we don’t have a lot of billionaires.”The town council had refused Rowan’s application for a liquor licence, and in response, Rowan sued. Bragman, who had been appointed to the town board in January 2018, had the measure of the man. His first move was to hire a new town attorney, Michael Sendlenski, who had experience representing towns in zoning disputes. “We knew that Michael was the best guy,” Bragman said. “He’s very good in court.”In the town board chambers, Bragman and his allies gave the proposal for a new Duryea’s a cool reception. “I don’t want Montauk to be Las Vegas,” one member said. “I don’t want Montauk to be a party town.” Bragman told the press that Rowan’s plan was “a restaurant by any definition”. The board voted unanimously to reject the application. Rowan was forced to seek approval from the state liquor authority, which in 2019 granted him a full liquor licence, over the opposition of the town council. “In my 30 years of doing this, this is the most egregious example of a state agency disregarding local control,” Bragman told the East Hampton Star. Rowan’s new restaurant, Bragman said, would be “the antithesis of Montauk”.Rowan’s team pushed back. They hired a public relations firm, and a lawyer to challenge Bragman’s assertions. They took the matter to the state supreme court. In a decision handed down last year, the judge ruled that the town had been unfair to Rowan, and ordered the town council to consider his application once more. At the hearing, Jauffrineau testified that Duryea’s would cater to families, not the party crowd. “We believe that the project we have is the right project for the right time in Montauk,” he said.Bragman, who had been elected to a second term on the town board, was pained. “The judge has given us a roadmap,” he said. “The decision is not a blank cheque for any version of Duryea’s that they want.” His goal, he said, was to ensure that the restaurant did not disrupt the character of the town. “We’re trying to find a balance,” he said. “We’re trying to find a way to make it work.” The town council is still deliberating on Rowan’s latest proposal.As for the bridal party, they ate their lobster Cobb salads beneath the sheltering roof of the new Duryea’s, as the rain pattered down outside. The guests were in high spirits, and the food was excellent. When the toasts began, the bride’s father stood up to speak. He raised a glass to the happy couple, and to the future. And then, as if to punctuate his words, a peal of thunder rolled in from the sea.\”
