The big-box building at Bridgehampton Commons has changed its name three times and kept the same job. Woolco, Caldor and Kmart held the space over roughly 50 years, and this month a 90,000-square-foot Target took it over. Bridgehampton runs on two sets of addresses. The Commons is where the hamlet buys paper towels and picks up online orders. The library lawn, the museum's two houses, a winery on Scuttlehole Road and a few food counters still decide what happens on any given weekend through Thanksgiving.
A Building That Has Never Changed Its Job
27east reported that Kmart closed for good in October 2024 and was the last full-size Kmart to close in the mainland United States. For close to two years, the hamlet's biggest single storefront sat between tenants. In that time, the closest Target was in Riverhead, about 23 miles away, according to Newsday.
Reports give slightly different opening dates. Patch reported that doors opened to the public at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, with a grand-opening celebration on Sunday, Oct. 11. Whichever date you count, the space has been back in business since early October.
The building also looks different from a typical Target. Store director Adriana Fitzpatrick told 27east that the exterior and interior were designed to "align with the town's design guidelines to reflect its coastal theme." She also told the paper the store had hired more than 130 team members, with seasonal hiring still to come.
What Is Open Now, and What Is Still Coming
Target's Bridgehampton store page lists the store at 2102 Montauk Highway, with these hours for the week of Oct. 19:
| Service | Listed hours |
|---|---|
| Main store | 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., daily |
| Starbucks Cafe | 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| CVS Pharmacy | 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., then 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Order Pickup, Drive Up, same-day delivery | Listed as available |
Those hours set the Commons apart from Main Street. Every Main Street and nearby business in this post keeps daytime hours. The Target stays open until 11 p.m. every night.
The pharmacy row comes with a caveat. In its opening story, 27east said the in-store CVS was slated to open the following month, which is November. Spark Hamptons noted on Oct. 15 that Target's site already listed pharmacy hours and a direct line, 631-296-5006, which could mean an earlier start. Call that number before moving a prescription.
Inside, 27east described groceries, adult beverages and what Target calls a "food-forward" shopping experience. Fitzpatrick called the store "the perfect one-stop shop for busy residents and families in our community." The rest of the center stays the same. Kimco Realty, which owns Bridgehampton Commons, lists King Kullen, Walgreens, TJ Maxx, Marshalls/HomeGoods, Barnes & Noble, Panera Bread, Staples, Ulta and Petco on its property directory.
The Parking Lot Was Redrawn Around Pickup
The biggest change at the Commons is in the parking lot. While the store was being built, an internal roadway was blocked. Shoppers going from one end of the center to the other had to exit onto Montauk Highway and come back in. 27east described the closure as a substantial inconvenience. Target's attorney told officials that the sooner its requested design changes were approved, the sooner the through-drive could reopen.
The redesign also tied parking spaces to pickup service. The East Hampton Star reported in November 2025 on a plan for 10 drive-up pickup stalls and the removal of six existing spaces. According to 27east, the lot serving the former Kmart, Walgreens and TJ Maxx side of the Commons had 543 stalls at the time. Planning Board Chairwoman Jacqui Lofaro asked about the reduction, and a Kimco representative told the board the center had no parking problems.
Opening weekend put that answer to a test. LTV correspondent Dara Berger reported heavy parking-lot traffic, and shoppers she spoke with called the store "really nice," "convenient" and "modern," according to a Citizen Portal summary of LTV's report. In the same report, nearby small-business owners said they expected a short-term impact and pointed to what local service and one-of-a-kind shops offer. Those businesses are where the local events from Halloween through Thanksgiving weekend take place.
The Calendar Runs Along Montauk Highway Between Two Museum Houses
The Commons sits at 2102 Montauk Highway. The hamlet's fall schedule is centered a little farther along the same road, at the Bridgehampton Museum's Corwith House at 2368 and its Nathaniel Rogers House at 2539. Nearly everything between now and Thanksgiving weekend happens at one of those two addresses, on the library lawn between them, or at Channing Daughters on Scuttlehole Road.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Oct. 30, 5 to 8 p.m. | After Hours with a taco truck, no ticket needed | Channing Daughters Winery, 1927 Scuttlehole Road |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Annual Halloween Parade | Hampton Library front lawn, down Main Street, to Corwith House |
| Fri., Nov. 6, 5 to 8 p.m. | After Hours with a taco truck, no ticket needed | Channing Daughters Winery |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 5 to 6 p.m. | "The World According to Irving" with Keith Reddin | Nathaniel Rogers House, 2539 Montauk Hwy |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 5 to 8 p.m. | After Hours, programming to be announced | Channing Daughters Winery |
| Fri., Nov. 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sat., Nov. 28 starting 10 a.m. | Gourmet Market | Tractor Barn, 2368 Montauk Hwy |
The Halloween Parade, run by the Bridgehampton Museum and the Hampton Library, follows the same route as the hamlet's commercial strip. It starts on the library's front lawn, moves down Main Street for trick-or-treating and ends at Corwith House. The event page has the details.
Nov. 7 has the most going on. Playwright Keith Reddin's talk on John Irving at Nathaniel Rogers House is co-sponsored by Canio's, and it ends at 6 p.m. Channing Daughters' After Hours runs until 8 p.m. that same evening, so you can make both. The talk listing has the full description.
The museum's Gourmet Market runs Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving in the Tractor Barn, behind the same address where the Halloween Parade ends.
Thanksgiving Is Ordered by Name
The Commons now sells groceries until 11 p.m. Main Street's food shops are still where you pre-order a Thanksgiving meal by name, with set deadlines and pickup windows.
L&W Market in Bridgehampton is taking Thanksgiving pre-orders. The schedule:
- Order by Sunday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m.
- Pick up Wednesday, Nov. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m.
- Or pick up Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, from 9 to 11 a.m.
Its menu lists free-range heritage turkeys at $179 for 14 to 16 pounds and $249 for 18 to 20 pounds, along with sides and pies.
Just over the line in Sagaponack, Loaves & Fishes Foodstore is open year-round, Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Tuesdays. On Sept. 16, it announced a new prix fixe menu on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, posted on its news page.
Round Swamp Farm, which calls itself one of Bridgehampton's "new neighbors," has its stand behind Bobby Van's in the Bridgehampton Municipal Parking Area. The farm's homepage currently lists Bridgehampton hours as Wednesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Its Bridgehampton page shows a Tuesday-through-Saturday schedule, so check before a Tuesday trip.
Spread out on a map, the season looks like this. Errands are at the Commons, open late every night with pickup stalls at the curb. The parade, the Irving talk, the winery evenings, the Thanksgiving-weekend market and the turkey pickups all happen in daytime and early-evening windows along Main Street, Montauk Highway and Scuttlehole Road.
At Jennifer Friedberg, we follow how Bridgehampton's daily routines change from season to season, from a new store at the Commons to the museum's Thanksgiving-weekend market. If you are thinking about how this part of the South Fork fits your own plans, we would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a private consultation.
