Target held its opening ceremony on Tuesday, October 6, and the lot at Bridgehampton Commons filled up. According to Dan's Papers, attendees saw a parking lot "jam packed with cars," and the Starbucks line inside ran all the way to the back of the store. The official grand opening came this past Sunday, October 11.
To open here, Target had to change how it looks. Meanwhile, the hamlet's fall calendar keeps running the way it has for years. It's organized by the Bridgehampton Museum, the Hampton Library, the Lions Club and the Peconic Land Trust, and much of it happens at a single address on Montauk Highway.
A National Chain, Painted Gray
The store fills the former Kmart at 2102 Montauk Highway. Kmart had been there since November 1999. Spark Hamptons notes that Kmart closed in October 2024 after 25 years as the last full-size store of its kind in the continental United States. The building was a Caldor before that, and a Woolco before that. That makes Target the fourth general-merchandise tenant on the site. It's also the first Target east of Riverhead, at roughly 90,000 square feet.
Southampton Town asked for white signage during planning, so the red bullseye lettering became white on a muted gray facade. Even the big cylindrical bollards out front, normally Target red, are gray. Illuminated signs aren't allowed at the Commons, so the sign is lit from above rather than from inside. The store's only nods to its usual branding are red and white circles painted on the blacktop and a sign on one shingled wall that reads "Welcome Home Hamptons."
The practical details:
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Spark Hamptons called that an unusually late shopping option on the East End.
- Inside: a Starbucks and a CVS Pharmacy, plus Order Pickup and Drive Up. A listing from opening week said to check whether the pharmacy is open before you go.
- Staff: about 140 people. It's Target's 109th store in New York State.
- Phone: 631-709-7053.
Spark Hamptons also reported that the store's arrival came with real debate about traffic on an already busy stretch of Montauk Highway and about whether national chains belong here. The town's design requests settled how the building would look, though not the debate over whether it should be there.
Two Museum Houses on the Same Highway
Two historic houses on Montauk Highway carry much of the hamlet's late-October calendar, and both belong to the Bridgehampton Museum. The Corwith House is at 2368 Montauk Highway, with the museum's Tractor Barn on the same grounds. The Nathaniel Rogers House is at 2539. The museum says it was built in 1824 by Abraham T. Rose, then substantially remodeled in the Greek Revival style in the 1840s by the portraitist Nathaniel Rogers.
Between the museum, the library and a few neighbors, something is scheduled nearly every weekend between now and Thanksgiving:
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 to 11 a.m. The Great Give Back Main Street Clean Up with the Bridgehampton Village Improvement Society. Meet on the Hampton Library's front lawn.
- Saturday, Oct. 17, 5 to 7 p.m. Cocktails at The Bridge, honoring Bob Morrow and Dennis Suskind.
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Drawing from Nature with Dr. Quincy Egginton.
- Friday, Oct. 23, evening. A ghost investigation at the Nathaniel Rogers House.
- Saturday, Oct. 24. The Bridge Gardens Autumn Festival, Wölffer Cider Fest, and Mind to Matter with Barry Holden.
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 5 to 7:30 p.m. The Bridgehampton Lions Club Pumpkin Carving Contest at the Corwith House.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Halloween parade, ending at the Corwith House.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 to 6 p.m. The World According to Irving, co-sponsored with Canio's.
- Friday and Saturday, Nov. 27 and 28, from 10 a.m. The Gourmet Market in the Tractor Barn. The Friday listing runs until 3 p.m.
The ghost investigation is the most structured event on that list. The Long Island Paranormal Investigators run it in two one-hour sessions, 8 to 9 p.m. and 9:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person plus a $1 service fee. The museum warns guests to expect darkness, stairs and stretches of standing, and everyone signs a liability waiver.
October 24 Holds Three Events in One Afternoon
The Saturday before Halloween is the most crowded day on the calendar, and the times don't overlap much, so you can plan a route.
The Peconic Land Trust's Autumn Festival runs from noon to 3 p.m. at Bridge Gardens, 36 Mitchell Lane. There's a garden scavenger hunt, crafts, pumpkin painting and decorating with Pumpkintown, programs from partner groups, and free refreshments. Costumes are encouraged. Admission is free and donations are welcome. The Trust asks for reservations, and the festival goes ahead rain or shine.
From 2 to 5 p.m., Wölffer Cider Fest takes over The Wine Stand at 3312 Montauk Highway in Sagaponack. The listing promises cider, a lobster-roll truck, live music, outdoor games and a bouncy house for children. Walk-ins are welcome.
At 5 p.m., the Bridgehampton Museum hosts Mind to Matter with Barry Holden, which runs until 6. Put together, that's a garden in the early afternoon, cider in Sagaponack, and a talk at the museum in the evening.
Halloween Ends at the Corwith House
The Hampton Library and the Bridgehampton Museum run the Halloween parade together. It starts on the library's front lawn, moves along Main Street for trick-or-treating, and ends at the Corwith House. The museum lists it as an annual event and says a haunted SLED mobile tech library will be parked at the Corwith House.
Bridgehampton High School's junior class is holding a carnival on the museum grounds the same day, with Halloween games, prizes, face painting and sweets. Money from game tickets goes toward the class's senior trip. The listing doesn't give a parade admission price or game-ticket prices, so bring a few small bills.
That makes three events at the Corwith House in one week. The Lions Club's carving contest fills the grounds Sunday evening, October 25, and the parade and carnival end there the following Saturday. The museum's listing for the contest gives the date, the time, the place and an RSVP link to the Lions Club. It doesn't list carving categories or entry terms.
Into November
After Halloween the calendar thins out, but it doesn't stop. On November 7, the museum and Canio's present The World According to Irving, an hour-long program starting at 5 p.m. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, and the Gourmet Market opens the next morning in the Tractor Barn. Local and regional makers will sell artisan breads, baked goods, chocolates, confections and specialty foods on both Friday and Saturday. The listing asks for an RSVP but doesn't say whether admission is free.
Spark Hamptons reported that for years, East End residents often had to drive to Riverhead for household basics, children's clothes and school supplies. That trip now ends at 2102 Montauk Highway. The museum's Gourmet Market opens at 2368 Montauk Highway on November 27 at 10 a.m.
Questions about how Bridgehampton's design rules shape a property, from signage at the Commons to a renovation on a historic street, are part of the work Jane Babcook has done here for decades. If a project or purchase raises one, Contact Jane.