Local Businesses Get Creative

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the coronavirus has many East End businesses stretching their limits to continue to provide services to locals and maintain their entire staff.

If you are one of those businesses, please let us know how you are adjusting. Drop an email to news@indyeastend.com.

Update: Tuesday, March 24

Home Delivery

You can support local business while having products delivered to your front door.

Chris Arlotta cashmere hoodie sets, robes, and slippers are available for immediate delivery from Water Mill. Visit www.chrisarlotta.com.

Plain-T, a Southampton based tea company, is offering home delivery. Enjoy items like its green teas that support the immune system and are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients.

BookHampton in East Hampton will fulfill online and phone orders, but will no longer be able to provide curbside delivery. Online orders can be made at www.bookhampton.com and over the phone by calling 631-324-4939. Shipping is free.

The locally owned Harlow+Bentley candles that offer 100 hours of burn time are accepting online orders for 11-ounce soy candles. Visit www.harlowandbentley.com.            

Original Story: Wednesday, March 18

East End Bookstores Keep The Pages Turning

In the words of Jhumpa Lahiri, “Books let you travel without moving your feet.” That’s a good thing to keep in mind while we’re all on various degrees of lockdown due to coronavirus. And with most, if not all, libraries currently closed until further notice, local bookstores are finding ways to keep the community’s bookshelves stocked, at a time when those tomes are needed more than ever.

In an email BookHampton of East Hampton sent to its subscribers, owner Carolyn Brody said, “We know that so many of you consider BookHampton a resource, a place of respite, a friend. It’s been an honor to play this vital role in our community and one we plan on continuing through this uneasy time.”

She laid out plans the store has to keep readers supplied.

“We want to provide you options, whether you want to visit us in person, by appointment, by phone, text message, or email, remotely/virtually — whatever works for you. We’re here to provide bookseller advice, easy pick up/curbside delivery, or a friendly face! To that end, BookHampton is extending free shipping on all orders placed at www.bookhampton.com.”

“We’ll deliver your purchase to you in your vehicle. Place your order online or with a bookseller over the phone, and text/call us upon your arrival (please mention your vehicle details!) and we’ll run out,” Brody added.

The website www.bookhampton.com will list event cancellations which, until further notice, include its popular Sunday morning story time.

In Sag Harbor, Maryann Calendrille of Canio’s Books has this to say, referring to school closings: “Put away the screens and get out in our beautiful landscape. Take walks by the water. How lucky we are to be able to enjoy that! All nature books are 20 percent off. We have great guide books, nature books for kids.”

And for adults, she suggests, “Good calming, helpful reading: Pema Chodron’s new one, ‘Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World.’ And a good translation of the Psalms. Broaden our context by realizing we’ve been struggling with adversity forever. And we prevail.” Canio’s is also offering free shipping on orders $50 and up and is cutting shipping costs by half for orders under $50. Visit www.caniosbooks.com for more information.

Staying Busy For Adults And Kids

What to do when you’ve watched “Frozen 2” with the littles 100 times, and you’re sick of social media and sudoku?

Many of the East End’s local museums and galleries, while closed to the public, are offering virtual tours to keep your creative mind active.

Guild Hall of East Hampton’s executive director Andrea Grover said this: “We had been planning to launch a ‘Live from Guild Hall’ streaming series, and under the current circumstances, the process of implementing the series went from one year to one week, with all credit to Joe Brondo, our digital media creative manager. Joe was able to pre-record some content related to our current exhibition before our staff was assigned to work from home. Other videos which will be released come from banked content that was awaiting the time for editing. Guess what? We found the time.”

Visit www.guildhall.org to find out more.

Southampton Arts Center is offering virtual tours of the Takeover 2020! show. Visit www.southamptonartscenter.org/event/takeover-2020-artists-residence to take a cyber art trip.

Most importantly, stay at home and stay calm. Playing board games or card games, cooking together, and more, might lead to closer connection in the time of social distancing.

Options For Dining At Home Amid COVID-19

With coronavirus sweeping the country and East End communities, small businesses, including local restaurants, are changing their normal routines to include take-out and, in some cases, delivery.

A few neighborhood eateries are offering delivery services in an attempt to stay inside and stay safe, while still bringing good food to the table. Almond Restaurant in Bridgehampton is among those local establishments. According to an email sent out by owners Jason Weiner and Eric Lemonides, Almond is now offering delivery to Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, and Wainscott. You can see the menu online at www.almondrestaurant.com or call 631-537-5665. Almond is also offering curbside pickup.

The L & W Market in Bridgehampton, which is right next door to Almond, will also remain open, with extended hours. According to the e-mail, the shelves are “full of all kinds of delicious groceries, pastries, prepared foods, sandwiches, meats, cheeses, pickles, condiments, and everything in between. If there’s something you’re looking for that you don’t see, just ask — we probably have it — after all, we have a whole restaurant next door.” L & W is working on delivery from the store as well. You can check out www.landwmarket.com for more information.

DoPo LaSpiaggia in East Hampton and Sag Harbor is taking telephone orders that will be in the pickup/curbside delivery fashion. Patrons are encouraged to view the menu at www.dopolaspiaggia.com and then to call 631-658-9063 to place their order. 

In Hampton Bays, 1 North Steakhouse offers takeout and delivery, as well as the option of having a chef prepare and serve a custom dinner of your choosing in the comfort of your own home. It also offers meal preparation services for families who don’t want to venture out. The owner and chef, Chris Cariello, can be contacted at 631-594-3419. Orders are taken 24 hours in advance. You can visit the website at www.1northsteakhouse.com.

Art of Eating catering in Bridgehampton is offering a new home menu. The menu includes everything from light bites to entire meals, even including a list of condiments. If you drop off your own dishes and platters, staff members will gladly create a beautiful presentation or they can create the same beautiful presentation on their own take-away board. Art of Eating is located at 264 Butter Lane in Bridgehampton or can be contacted via phone at 631-267-2411 or email at info@hamptonsartofeating.com. Place your order 72 hours in advance and it will be delivered right to your door, Thursday through Sunday. Visit the website at www.hamptonsartofeating.com.

If you want to help out the restaurant community in another way, a group of restaurant industry professionals started an initiative in order to get funds into the hands of restaurants now. According to www.supportrestaurants.org, “Dining Bonds is an industry-wide initiative that works like a savings bond where guests will purchase a ‘bond’ at a value rate to be redeemed for face value at a future date.” The dining bond represents a savings of 25 percent when redeemed.

See more options here.

By Brittany Ineson, Karen Fredericks, Jessica Mackin-Cipro, and Bridget LeRoy