Vines & Branches To Close Doors, Hamptons Chocolate Moves To La Parm

As Southampton’s Vines & Branches prepares to close its doors, chocolatier tenants Caroline and Evan Gappelberg of the Hampton Chocolate Factory have relocated just down the road to a brand new café that opened Tuesday morning inside La Parmigiana, taking over the Italian restaurant’s former deli space.

“It was a great stepping stone for us, because everything in life leads you to the next door,” Ms. Gappelberg said on Monday during an American Heart Association tasting event in the new space. “So, it was great, and now it’s going to be even greater.”

It was only one year after Rita Winkler opened her flagship olive oil and vinegar tasting room in Greenport Village that she expanded to two additional locations in Westhampton Beach—the phone number of which has since been disconnected—and Southampton, which restricted its hours to Friday and Monday effective January 31, a consequence of the East End’s seasonality that some business owners know all too well.

“You bite what you can swallow, and I think she started to realize … this is a resort town, so it’s a lot to take on,” Ms. Gappelberg said of the imminent closure of Ms. Winkler’s Southampton Village location. “She wanted us to take the space, and we can’t.”

In just a matter of days, Hampton Chocolate Factory has made itself right at home inside La Parmigiana, with chocolate bars, bon bons, baked goods, barque and toffee crisps sold behind the counter, and new products on the way—coconut macaroons and tiramisu almond, to name a couple. Additionally, the cafe will sell espresso, wine and paninis.

“We have a lot of things we’ll be rolling out in the next month,” Ms. Gappelberg said.

Ms. Winkler could not be reached for comment.