As the Hamptons Booms, a New World of Luxury Problems

Weekenders seeking a good time are back in full force as well.

On Main Street earlier that evening, Krishna Shah, 26, who lives in Manhattan, was waiting for an Uber to take her and a group of friends back to their rental house on Water Hill Road. “I don’t know which part of East Hampton that is,” Ms. Shah sad. “It’s an Airbnb. We were drunk when we booked it.”

“Yeah,” said her friend Paul Orshansky, also 26. “We basically thought, ‘Let’s go before it gets insane.’”

Things were picking up in Amagansett, too.

Outside of The Stephen Talkhouse, a bar that features blues musicians and lots of beer, a line of 20-somethings were waiting to be carded by Will Field, who was checking more than just their age. “I need to see Excelsior passes, proof of vaccination,” he said, referring to the digital New York vaccination card.

Mr. Field, 40, had a tough year. Unlike many shops and restaurants, the Talkhouse remained closed for nearly a year, and reopened just weeks ago.

Although Mr. Field received unemployment benefits from the government, it wasn’t enough to make up for the money he ordinarily makes working for the bar. “I was hanging by a thread,” he said. “I had to borrow money from my dad.”

So he’s glad to be back, even if the room inside only had around 50 people, making it about half full.