New Sagaponack General Store Will Open on April 16

Nearly four years after purchasing the vacant Sagaponack General Store, Mindy Gray is ready to throw the doors open again to the community, with a new version of the store that will combine a reverence for tradition with a modern sensibility.

Under the new ownership, the Sagaponack General Store will have its grand opening on April 16, and will stay open year round, seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Residents of Sagaponack Village will also mark the return of their post office to its traditional home at the store. From the start, Gray was committed to ensuring that the post office would remain in the building it has always shared with the general store. The post office was moved to a temporary location during the construction phase of the renovation project, but will have its homecoming when the store reopens.

Gray sourced historic bronze postboxes to give the post office its own mini renovation, and it will now include more mailboxes and more storage than it previously had, while also becoming ADA compliant.

The general store has a new and fresh look thanks to the renovation and upgrades, but Gray said she did her best to ensure it remained an homage to the village’s rich culture and history.

“My vision was always to make customers feel like they were stepping back in time to the 1870s,” she said earlier this week, adding that that’s why touches like bronze postboxes for the post office were important to her. She also incorporated old signs and other antiques from the store’s past into its new look and design. “I really wanted it to be historically accurate.”

Dating back to the 1800s, the Sagaponack General Store has been an inextricable part of life for anyone living in the village, as well as regular summer visitors. Over the decades, it has been a place for farmers and families growing potatoes and looking for basic agricultural equipment, grocery staples, tools and other goods in the 1800s and through the turn of the century, to residents in more modern times looking to pick up sandwiches for a day at the beach, or a pie to bring to a dinner party.

Because of the village’s tiny size and its lack of a traditional Main Street with a lineup of stores, the general store has been a key component of life in Sagaponack for many years, and Gray is hoping to revive that tradition.

“It really is a general store,” she said. “You’ll be able to go in during the morning, maybe on your way to work, and get a breakfast burrito or a yogurt and coffee, maybe grab a pastry or baguette.”

The store will carry a wide range of necessities, from sunscreen to headache medicine and more, and will also have a robust grab-and-go menu. Soups, salads, sandwiches and more will be available for purchase, off a menu created in partnership with Daniel Eddy, an acclaimed chef and owner of popular New York City area eateries like Winner’s in Prospect Park.

Snacks, beverages and coffee will be staples at the store, which will also sell soft-serve frozen yogurt and a variety of toppings. Sagaponack sweatshirts and tote bags will be offered for sale as well.

Gray said she has also placed a strong emphasis on sourcing locally as much as she possibly can. Fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms will feature prominently on the menu, she said.

The store will also sell its own honey. Local beekeeper Chris Kelly has been tending to 10 hives on the property. Gray is also using the land that the general store is on to grow an herb garden and a flower garden, and goods from those gardens will be offered for sale as well.

Gray said there won’t be a lot of fanfare associated with the April 16 opening, but said the timing is right to roll into the busy season.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation,” she said. While arriving at opening day took a bit longer than initially anticipated, Gray said the Village of Sagaponack was helpful in moving the process along and making her dream to open the store again come true.

“They’ve been wonderful to work with,” she said of village officials.

The result is the manifestation of a plan Gray hatched back during the start of the pandemic.

“The genesis of this came during COVID, when we were all isolated and the community was impaired,” she said. “This is all about bringing community back together while also preserving this historic place that has been such an important part of the Sagaponack community. If this didn’t exist, Sagaponack would just be a collection of homes and not a village. This is at the beating heart of the center of the village.

“I’ve gotten so much positive support from people in the community,” she added. “We just want this to be a warm and friendly and inviting place for everyone.”