Noelle's Market To Close

Noelle's Country Market, which opened two and a half years ago on Bridgehampton's Main Street, will be forced to close its doors due to a rent increase on Oct. 25.

Noelle Surerus of Shelter Island, who ran the grocery and delicatessen with her husband, Paul, declined to specify how much the new rent would be, but did say, "We just couldn't absorb the increase."

For now, she has no plans to open another shop. Southampton, East Hampton, and Sag Harbor are all well served by grocers and delis, and Shelter Island does not have enough year-round traffic to support another store, according to Ms. Surerus. Plus, she added, the cost of moving and getting the necessary Suffolk County Health Department approvals would make it too much of a headache.

"I'll probably just take some time off and then look for another job," she said.

Complementary Shops

Ms. Surerus got her start in the food business after working 16 years for Second Nature in Southampton. When that business was sold, she went out on her own, opening her shop in the building that also houses DePetris Liquors and the Bridgehampton Seafood Company.

The three stores complemented one another, she said, with customers frequently stopping at all three as they shopped for that night's dinner. "You could have installed swinging doors between them," she said.

Although the "first three years are usually the toughest" for a new business, Ms. Surerus said she had enjoyed a "wonderful run" and almost made it over the hump.

"Our customers are the best, and I want them to know that," she said.

The feeling may have been mutual. "We'll be crying at the end of the month," said one woman as she picked up a loaf of French bread.