THE KING OF MAIN

If there’s one person we can thank for keeping Main Street in Southampton vibrant and exciting, it’s 75 Main owner Zach Erdem. Never failing to generate buzz, the restaurateur is now letting the world know what he’s all about on his new discovery+ show, Serving the Hamptons. Hit it!

BY SYDNEY SADICK

Zach, you’ve owned 75 Main for over a decade. Why did you decide to now let cameras in on what takes place at your restaurant?

The restaurant was already like a movie, just without cameras. You walk in and there are so many beautiful and famous characters in one room. A woman who’s a customer [Teresa Sorkin] approached me. She loved how the restaurant is run and asked me to do a reality show. I told her all we need is the cameras. We had a 28-person crew following us all over, and that’s how we started.

Most people don’t realize, you were homeless at one point and began as an employee for another Hamptons restaurateur. How are you processing this next chapter in your life?

When I opened my restaurant, everyone assumed I was this rich kid or had money behind it. I didn’t even know what an investor was back then. This is the story of a guy who came to America at 11 from Turkey and saw a picture of New York City and had no idea what that was, let alone what a piece of chocolate was. Turkey is beautiful, but I was in areas of the mountains most people didn’t even know existed. I was 20 when I made it. I was the kid who’d never seen anything like New York, so it was a big cultural shock initially.

What was your first job?

I worked for one day at Dunkin’ Donuts in Yonkers. Then I ended up at 75 Main. The manager liked me, and I was a bartender. I didn’t like it, though, because I couldn’t speak English; he put me back in the kitchen and I started washing

Cast of Serving the Hamptons

dishes. I worked seven days a week. Then I went to Nello as a busboy and bartender, and then general manager. I worked for [Nello] for nine years, and then I got fired, which was the best thing that happened to me. He lost his business, and the guy who took over didn’t like me. He told me to get the f**k out, and I did. I called the woman who owned 75 Main, who I worked for nine years earlier as a dishwasher, and I ended up

Zach Erdem

buying the restaurant from her.

For the Hamptonites who have been coming to your restaurant for years, what will they learn that’s different on your show?

People will learn my true story.

I want people to know who I am. I’m very private about my personal life. You won’t see that on Season 1, but you’ll see more on Season 2. If customers didn’t want to be on camera, we put them in a different location in the restaurant. Everything was smooth and well-run.

Some of the biggest reality stars, like the Kardashian family, have dined at your restaurant in the past. What have you learned from them?

When the Kardashians came, there was bad energy. Restaurants were throwing them out, people didn’t want them in our village. I was the

only person who sat down with their producers and opened my restaurant for them. I watched them film all day long—Kourtney, Khloé, Scott Disick, and French Montana. I went from watching their show to now being in front of my own cameras!

What’s the best piece of advice Foodgod gave you going into this?

I’ve known Jonathan [Cheban] for 15 years. He’s a friend and a great guy. We always have fun together. I’d send him screen shots during filming. I’m curious what he’ll think when he sees it.

What are your thoughts on being compared as the male version to Lisa Vanderpump?

People will say, “Hi, Lisa” to me [Laughs]. I didn’t even know who she was when my show started. But then once people told me, I learned. I think my restaurants are way more fun. We’re in an exclusive area. Everything is limited. I think I love the restaurant business more than she does; she does other things on the side. I don’t even know if she really works at the restaurant. I think my show will be much better than her’s. Her style is way different from mine. I’m with my people, serving you, cleaning the table, hosting. I do it all.

How are you stepping up the restaurant this summer?

We’re working on renovating the restaurant with talented people from Dubai and England. It’s going to look very chic. New floor, everything! Different colored bar.

What’s been the most memorable moment for you at 75 Main so far?

The people I’ve met, like President Joe Biden. He was VP at the time. A woman came up to me while I was sitting with him, screaming at me that she needed toilet paper in the bathroom. I brought it to her, and when I got back to the president and his wife, Jill, they were laughing so hard. That’s what I love about this restaurant—it’s a place to see people for who they are.

What’s next?

I just signed the lease for a new restaurant in Greenport in a beautiful hotel called The Menhaden. They have a gorgeous rooftop overlooking the water; we’ll be taking over food and beverage. The sky’s the limit. Any restaurant I own, I own 100 percent. I don’t have investors. I’m looking to take things global next, with both Dubai and Saudi Arabia. You might see me all over the world in a couple of years! T

Erdem with Jon Bon Jovi First Lady Jill Biden and President Joe Biden

Zach’s Star Orbit

Jamie Foxx

Kendall Jenner

Serving the Hamptons is streaming on discovery+.

Victoria Hilton

PLUS!

Meet Victoria Hilton, manager at 75 Main

How did you end up at the restaurant? Zach asked me to answer the phone one day, and the rest is history! What’s Zach like as a boss? Oh, my God. He is so fun to work with! He’s a hard worker, and I’m the same way, so we flow very well together. Most dramatic scene to film on the show? Zach’s birthday party—hands down. Favorite item on the menu? The freaking Chicken Parmesan. How’s life changed since the show? I already lived an amazing life. It’s still the same for me. I model and I’ve done movies, so I’m kinda used to all this!