by Debbie Tuma
It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to a giant of Montauk, Emmett Gosman, at a wake held on June 19 at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Half of Montauk streamed in to give their condolences to the whole Gosman clan. As most people know, they started and ran the famous Gosman’s Dock restaurants and fish market for over 55 years. It recently got sold, and what remains this year is the Topside and Inlet Restaurants, plus the Fish Market.
Robert Emmett Gosman was born in Amagansett, at the home of his parents, Robert Horton Gosman and Mary Ellen Harrington. She came over from County Roscommon in Ireland. Bob Gosman’s father was a conductor on the Long Island Railroad, and his mother played the organ in church. Eventually Bob and Mary Gosman came to Montauk and opened a little shack at the docks in the 1950’s, serving eggs, coffee, chowder hamburgers to the local fishermen. Emmett started working there when he was about 12 years old.
Back in the 1960’s, the Gosman family started planning to expand their little fisherman’s shack to make a bigger restaurant, adjoining a clam bar and fish market, and eventually turning it into Gosman’s Village of shops, complete with a summer concert stage. John Gosman designed it with the help of architects, and Emmett would eventually become the bookkeeper and run it.
“My brother gets the credit for managing and keeping it together, since he had an organizational brain,” said Emmett’s brother Billy Gosman. “As young men used to work together on the docks, loading and unloading the boats with fish from all the draggers, and managing the ice and fuel,” he said. “It was hard work, but we enjoyed it.”
Emmett Gosman attended East Hampton High School, taking mostly business courses, and after high school he came back to run Gosman’s Restaurant, which was built in the late 1960’s, and the bar area was added in 1968. He worked there for many decades as the expediter, in charge of managing the massive amounts of orders in the kitchen. Back then, a wait staff of about 50 people had to write their orders on little pads of paper and bring them into Emmett to organize, but he still ran a tight ship in the kitchen.
I can attest to how great it was working with Emmett all through the 1970’s as one of many young waitresses and waiters working our way through college. We still share funny stories about all the things that happened in Gosman’s Restaurant, and also about how Emmett used to tease us with his good sense of humor. I’m sure we will all miss him, and also the whole Gosman’s Dock.
Emmett and his siblings were equal partners in the business, working in different areas. Roberta Gosman managed the restaurant staff, John Gosman oversaw the clam bar and fish house, along with Billy and Dick Gosman, and another brother, Sandy Gosman, predeceased them. Mary Gosman also brought over many relatives from Ireland to work in the operation.
Sharon Gosman recalled how her father loved to play golf, which also helped him to deal with some of the stress in the restaurant. “He played golf for 20 years with a group of guy friends,” she said. “One of his greatest times was going to the Ryder Cup in Ireland, and also spending the day with his aunt while there.” She also recalled time spent with her family as a child, when they went fishing off Nappeague and Shagwong beaches. She also said that Emmett and John Gosman helped rescue people off the Pelican Boat when it capsized off Montauk in 1951 and many people tragically died.
Emmett Gosman was pre-deceased by his wife, Kathleen, whom he married in 1960. He is survived by their children, Robert Gosman Jr., of Montauk, Karen Gosman, of Montauk, Sharon Gosman of Montauk, and Diane Gosman of Superior, Colorado. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Brendan Vilar, Matthew Vilar, Catherine Marsella, and Elizabeth Marsella, and great grandchildren, Brea Vilar, Carter Vilar, and Beau Vilar. He is also survived by two brothers, William Gosman of Montauk, and Richard Gosman, of Florida. He is pre-deceased by his sister Roberta Gosman, and his brothers, John Gosman and Sandy Gosman.
A private Memorial Service will be held later this year with the family in Montauk. Memorial donations may be sent to either the Montauk Ambulance Squad or the Montauk Food Pantry.