The Chequit Hotel Marks 150 Years on Shelter Island With a New Look
The Chequit hotel on Shelter Island is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year — and under new ownership by the Soloviev Group, has unveiled an extensive renovation to kick off the property’s next chapter on Long Island’s East End.
Despite living out East for many years, director of community relations Stacey Soloviev wasn’t personally familiar with The Chequit. When she went to see it for the first time over two years ago, the hotel was in poor shape, but Soloviev saw the potential to restore the beloved property to its former glory.
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“What’s so important is people having a place to gather again and be with their friends and family. That was what The Chequit always was — it was a place where everybody gathered,” says Soloviev of the hotel, which was originally built as a meeting hall in 1872 for members of the Methodist Church before becoming an inn in the early 1900s.
The Chequit, which officially reopened at the start of the summer, encompasses three buildings with over 30 guest rooms, and several food and beverage spaces, all located in the main building. The design is rooted in cozy neutrals with warm wood accents and subtle nautical decor throughout. Farm-to-table restaurant The Tavern opened this month, catering to both hotel guests and the wider community with a menu crafted by chef Noah Schwartz. A New Asian restaurant, Weakfish Sushi and Noodle, opened earlier this spring along with a casual cafe and wine bar.
“The cultural scene on the North Fork has really blossomed, especially with all the farms and farm-to-table [restaurants],” says Soloviev, who also owns the nearby Peconic Bay Vineyards. “People are really passionate about locally produced goods, down to honey, all of the fishermen, the shellfish, the oysters. The whole package of the North Fork lends itself to having a local experience where people eating at restaurants in the region can taste the wine and the food right from the area.”
The hotel is also supporting local creatives through an artist-in-residence program that will feature rotating exhibitions; first up is local Shelter Island resident Ana Martínez Orizondo, the visual artist and writer.
The Chequit continues its heritage of facilitating gathering across communal spaces, including an outdoor terrace and patio with lounge setups, fire pits, and wrap-around porch with views of the water.
“Everyone that comes by has a Chequit memory or a Chequit first, whether it was their first beer in the Tavern or their first summer kiss, or ‘met my wife here,’ ‘celebrated my anniversary here,’ ‘got engaged here,’” says general manager Ben Levine, who linked up with Soloviev in spring 2020 when she was in the process of purchasing the property. “Being a part of this project of reviving it and bringing The Chequit back to life to not only help people relive those memories, but to create new ones, is something that I’m really honored to be a part of.”
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Related Story: North Fork Hotel The Shoals Roots Itself to the Waterfront
Launch Gallery: Inside the Renovated Chequit Hotel on Shelter Island
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