For more than 140 years, The Sagaponack General Store was the quaint beating heart of a sleepy Hamptons village.

When it first opened in 1878, customers would arrive in horse-drawn carriages to buy penny candy and goods far cheaper than they are now.

It was closed in 2020 when a local married couple owned it, and it has subsequently been acquired by billionaire neighbor Mindy Gray. Her husband, Jonathan Gray, is the chief operating officer of Blackstone, an asset management firm based in New York.

The transition to ownership by the wealthy has brought with it new pricing and extensive renovations, including relocating the building farther from the curb. It has also introduced viral foods that lead to long lines and congested parking spots.

Nowadays, the Sagaponack general store caters to billionaires residing in one of the nation’s priciest zip codes, where properties typically sell for around $6 million.

At the shop, mac and cheese will run customers $22 and branded merchandise, including hoodies, costs more than $150. 

But not everyone who used to frequent the local haunt wants to pay the premium or deal with the newfound crowds.

The Daily Mail has spoken to both year-round Sagaponack locals and seasonal visitors about the mayhem, the money and, yes, the breakfast sandwich. 

Mindy and Jonathan Gray – who purchased and revived the Sagaponack General Store – pictured at the White House State Dinner where the President and First Lady hosted Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and his wife Yuko. Jonathan is COO of asset management firm Blackstone

The Sagaponack General Store was reopened in April after a multi-million dollar renovation by Mindy Gray, the wife of billionaire Blackstone COO John Gray

Pictured: Floral arrangements at the Sagaponack General Store

As the now-famous ‘steamed egg and cheese on a biscuit’ go viral on social media, the subsequent traffic jams and crowds flooding this tiny community of just 700 people have been a far cry from the calm and private norm. 

During the Fourth of July holiday, Sagaponack was overrun by vacationers prompting mayhem including, gridlock and a parking nightmare with some vehicles reportedly left on some of the residential lawns. 

On weekends the line can stretch outside into a parking lot that now has 15-minute time limits. And the store has brought in security to deal with the swarm of shoppers looking for their own slice of chic.

John Nealon, an accountant who has lived in Sagaponack for the last 40 years and whose family has had roots there for the last 300, told the Daily Mail he wasn’t too concerned about the traffic.

‘I am not going to get upset that there is a little traffic in Sagaponack,’ he said. ‘There is traffic everywhere.’

He’s right about that – data shows that traffic in the area always increases significantly over the summer months. 

Nealon also questioned some recent reports about the chaos the store was causing. ‘Do you see any cars parked on the lawns?’ he asked. ‘I think they are exaggerating.’

Though he did add that the store is now too crowded for him to want to use it as a regular marketplace.

Pictured: Produce at the Sagaponack General Store in the Hamptons

Pictured: An interior view of the new Sagaponack General Store in the Hamptons

‘I am happy to have [the general store] back, but I won’t be bothering with it until September’ – the big summertime rush tends to die down after Labor Day. 

He said he may stop in for a coffee and a pastry before then, but plans on going elsewhere to do his grocery shopping.

‘They did a beautiful job [with the restoration], but I won’t shop there because it is too crowded and too expensive.’

In addition to a full coffee bar and selection of pastries, some of the offerings include bread, frozen yogurt, soups, sandwiches, fruits, vegetables and rotisserie chicken. 

To Nealon’s point, a tuna sandwich costs $17 and tote bags range from $65 to $142. 

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the Daily Mail overheard a woman waiting in the store’s long line speak about that same recent news story Nealon called an exaggeration.

‘People just want to hate on the Hamptons, especially when something is successful,’ she said.

Pictured: Mindy Gray, owner of the Sagaponack General Store, pictured inside her shop

Home baked bread, pastries and pretzels are some of the offerings 

The previous owners, Mary Hildreth and her husband, Merrall Topping Hildreth, ran the store and the adjoining post office.

The space came into their family generations earlier, when Thomas Hildreth – a descendant of Southampton’s early Puritan settlers – purchased it in 1898.

After 122 years, the building went dark thanks to the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic.

But thanks to the cash injection from the Blackstone COO’s wife, which funded a nearly five-year multimillion-dollar renovation, the Sagaponack General Store reopened its doors in April – as did the Sagaponack Post Office, which had been running out of a temporary location for the last few years.

Mindy, a longtime resident of Sagaponack, breathed new life into the vacant property, transforming it into a space that, for many, feels like a step back in time.

Shelves are made from salvaged wood and milk crates from an old dairy farm. There’s an antique cash register, and Mary Hildreth’s antique dollhouse sits on display. 

Plus, there’s a wall of penny candies – that cost $1.25 per ounce – filled with some old-time favorites: gum balls, tootsie rolls and Mary Janes.

Gray told the Southforker her vision earlier this year: ‘It was really important to me to lean into this history of the general store and honor the legacy of those who came before me. 

‘We’re embracing that rich history and bringing it into the present, but never forgetting its beautiful and important past.’

The General Store was established in 1878. Locals would travel in on horse drawn carriages, long before out-of-towners and second home owners took over the neighborhood 

Some of the historic artifacts including, the antique cash register, are displayed in the store 

Wendi Murdoch, the ex-wife of billionaire media magnate Rupert Murdoch, and entrepreneur Susan Rockefeller count themselves among the reinvigorated shop’s customers, according to Town and Country.

One of the major upgrades during the construction was the addition of a charming front porch.

The new store was also moved approximately five feet from the sidewalk from where the building originally stood.

Erika, a customer who spoke with the Daily Mail, and her 12-year-old daughter, Antonia, stopped in at the shop on their way home to Greenwich, Connecticut.

She said she was ‘curious’, and Antonia said she saw all the TikToks about the shop and was excited to sample the treats. 

On Antonia’s wish list was the fluffy egg and cheese biscuit sandwich and the cinnamon roll.

The fluffy egg and cheese sandwich on a biscuit has been selling out. Ham can also be added to the sandwich

A woman in her 60s who lives in nearby Wainscott stopped in for a frozen yogurt on the hot summer day.

While indulging, she told the Daily Mail she didn’t mind the crowds and even described it as ‘fun.’ 

It wasn’t her first time visiting the shop.

‘I think it’s great. [Mindy] did a beautiful job, but I think they need more people working here.’

She also shared that the store has security during the morning rush.

‘They have a policeman here now to make sure that people are not parking on anyone’s lawns and are behaving and walking where they should go.’

Outside, the front porch was filled with people sitting on the chairs and stairs enjoying their iced coffees and sweets. 

One woman who was entering the store with two of her friends told the Daily Mail she has been keeping tabs.

‘Have you been here on the weekends? It is wild you can even get through the door,’ she said.

She admitted that if she lived nearby, she would be annoyed by the crowds. 

‘We are thrilled to live far from here, and happy to drive back and forth.’

Another resident, who used to go to the general store when it was owned by the Hildreths, was amused by some of the negative commentary, ‘people just like [to] complain about anything.’

Erika and her 12-year-old daughter Antonia were enjoying some mother and daughter time when they stopped in Sagaponack General Store so Antonia could get the fluffy egg and cheese biscuit sandwich and cinnamon roll

Rhodi Winchell, the clerk treasurer of the Village of Sagaponack, told the Daily Mail that she is working with the board of trustees, village engineers and store owners to try and come up with a solution on how to best manage the traffic control.

She said the owners ‘have been very cooperative’ and cautioned that visitors ‘should not abuse the parking’.

‘When visitors visit there are signs that say, “No Parking” and those signs mean “No Parking”. They do not mean “no parking except for somebody who wants to go to the store”.’

She explained that in addition to the parking lot in the back, and there are limited 15 and 30-minutes zones along the street that she hopes visitors will adhere to.

‘Let other people be able to enjoy the store.’