One street behind Main Street, cheeselovers line up to sample the offerings in this tiny Sag Harbor shop, which specializes in rare cheeses, both domestic and imported, but also sells gourmet oils, honeys and savories. Owners Michael and Tracey Cavaniola also have an adjacent wine store, stocked (like the cheese shop) with unique and limited-edition finds. The plan is to hold a lot of wine-cheese tastings on weekends.

The Upper West Side institution’s East End outpost is located in the hamlet of Wainscott, and its cult-favorite chocolate chip walnut cookies draw Hamptonites from points east and points west. Though decadent breakfast fare often sells out within a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings, Levain mercifully reserves essentials like blueberry muffins and cinnamon brioche for sleepy pastry fiends who remember to call ahead.

Since 2003, Loaves & Fishes has been wowing Bridgehampton residents with its in-store cooking demonstrations that showcase the owner’s favorite products and cooking tools. In 2015, the cookware boutique moved next door to the Bridgehampton Inn & Restaurant, where the owner’s family has been entertaining for years, so that they can continue to share their accumulated knowledge of cooking with their community.

Catherine Bodziner, whose passion for cheese was sparked on a Napa Valley wine tasting trip, originally started selling cheeses from all over America at the East Hampton Farmer’s Market. In 2008, she and business partner Lucy Kazickas opened their own shop. In addition to cheese, the store carries other artisanal food products like salamis, chutneys, and crostini as well as dips, desserts (including cheesecake) and sandwiches.

Most of the Hamptons’ gourmet cheese shops import their goods from farmers located elsewhere. Art and Stacy Ludlow own their own Jersey cows and they both make and sell their cheeses right here in Bridgehampton. Some of their biggest hits, like the Atlantic Mist and the Mecox Sunrise, are also sold at retail stores, including the Village Cheese Shop, Cavaniola’s Gourmet and Lucy’s Whey.

Run and owned by the same family for nine generations, Round Swamp sells organic produce, local fresh fish, pastries, and prepared food. The cozy market, surrounded by twenty acres of farmland, is also known for its excellent lobster salad

Kathleen King’s crispy chocolate chop cookies are sold in gourmet food shops and grocery stores throughout Long Island and NYC. At her super-quaint yellow and turquoise bakery (formerly called Kathleen’s Bake Shop), you can get them fresh from the oven. Every day, her bakery also turns out fresh muffins, coconut macaroons, a variety of pies and custom cakes.

Toward the end of August, when many Hamptons businesses begin to think about shuttering for the season, the Milk Pail, is just getting ready to open its doors. Inside this quaint family-run farm store you’ll find wholesome goods like fresh-picked apples and homemade apple cider, doughnuts (including an apple cider flavor), pies and Vermont cheeses and syrups—Eveleyn Halsey, who owns the place along with her husband John, is originally from Vermont. The family’s farm and apple orchards (where the apples are grown) are located on Mecox Road and throughout the fall, are overrun by urbanites and suburbanites, who come to partake in quintessential country activities like apple and pumpkin picking. The Mecox Road location also has a smaller farm stand, the Mini Milk Pail, which sells locally grown vegetables and produce and a flower shop run by John and Eveleyn’s daughter, Amy. Both abide by regular Hamptons hours, opening in May and closing after Labor Day.

It’s always bustling at this Southampton shop, which stocks both imported and American artisanal cheeses and often has great fondues and raclettes available at the cheese bar. Many, though, come here solely for the illy coffee and takeout sandwiches, salads and soups. In 2001, owners Rosemary and Adam Batcheller opened another shop in Mattituck (on the North Fork of Long Island) which hosts a number of wine and cheese tasting events throughout the year.