Foodies Will Love This New Shop in the Hamptons With an Unmatched International Inventory
At L’Épicuriste, you’ll find Dolce & Gabbana pasta, imported sauces, fresh produce, truffles, spices, and more...
If you go to the Hamptons with any sort of regularity, you’ll notice that the shops in town tend to turn over from time to time.
Not all of them, but enough to make a difference.
Earlier this summer in Bridgehampton, I saw that the old Antiques shop next to Pierre’s was under renovation.
A new kid was coming to town.
I knew it was some sort of food store, but not much more.
Then, about a month ago, it finally opened.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
And I read about it in The New York Times.
What surprised me the most about that story was finding out who was behind L’Épicuriste.
Charlie de Viel Castel.
I first met Charlie through his stylish wife, Vanessa Traina.
L to R, Victoria Traina, Charlie de Viel Castel, Vanessa Traina, Source: Vogue/BFA.com
Charlie is a financier, jewelry designer and all-around Renaissance man.
He’s also a father of three with a very busy life.
So, why the new project?
You’re about to find out.
IT HAPPENED DURING COVID
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: We had this idea after living out here in the Hamptons during the pandemic. [My wife], Vanessa and I, we love cooking, and we realized there's a lot of products that you can't find [out here].
ALINA CHO: Such as?
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: You know, certain spices, macarons.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
Certain truffles, pastas, sauces.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
French knives, Japanese knives. You could find some of these [things], but there wasn't [one] place where you could walk in and say, “Okay, I want to do something very specific and very simple. It's Friday and I want to pick it up.”
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
Not prepared food. We're not competing with Round Swamp and Loaves & Fishes that have been here forever and do what they do so much better than anybody else could.
ALINA CHO: That's interesting. It's an important point.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: Like Pierre next door, he has a coffee shop. We’re not going to start making coffee here. He has a restaurant; we're not going to have a restaurant.
ALINA CHO: Is that a matter of respect?
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: It's a matter of respect. And the idea being that it's a community of people. We wanted to have something that was very local and very international.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
So, going back to the products, we have products literally from around the world, [like] this very small batch of Japanese soy or ponzu that are found by these guys who go to Japan, spend six months a year finding specific products and bringing them back to the US.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
[And then we also have] very local things like Missi Flowers, who has fields and has been here for years. We have Java [Nation] Coffee, which is a wonderful coffee company that's down the road next to the train station, off the main road. There's not even a sign in front of the door, but when you know, you know. So, we have him roast coffee for us. We have an artist, Sydney Albertini, the painting behind the counter. The two paintings we hanged we sold within days. And she has a two-year waiting list. She has a show coming in Paris, a show in London.
ALINA CHO: Such an amazing mix of things.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: Yes, we have a great mix.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
Now, we have the Sagaponack farm down the street that's given us vegetables and tomatoes.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: Marilee's Farmstand.
ALINA CHO: Oh, I love that.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: It's good, right? And [my wife] Vanessa obviously added her own touch and said, “You need to have gifts, something you can bring as a hostess gift.”
ALINA CHO: 100%.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: So, [we have] foodies and chefs who want to have products they can't find. And then people who want [to buy a] nice gift.
ALINA CHO: That’s right.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: And so, we have everything from Portuguese soaps to napkins made in France that are hand embroidered by these people who are sort-of the best at that trade.
Photo Courtesy: Alina Cho
ALINA CHO: Well, there's a certain level of quality that you want, and it’s the things you want to buy yourself.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: I've been a guest a lot. I don't want to walk into a house with a bottle of wine. I've done that so many times. If I can bring something original, different…
ALINA CHO: … special.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: It makes a difference. And the people who walk in, I'm surprised, but there's really that mix of cooks and people finding gifts.
WHAT’S THE MEANING BEHIND L’ÉPICURISTE?
ALINA CHO: How did you come up with the name L'Épicuriste?
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
And what does it mean?
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: L’Épicuriste is someone who appreciates the finer things in life.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
And, of course, the name is impossible to pronounce in English.
ALINA CHO: Ha!
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: I wasn’t sure it was the right name, but I loved it. I knew the moment I saw it was available, that was it.
ALINA CHO: It fits.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: Even if it was not going be the easiest to pronounce.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE SUMMER SEASON IS OVER?
ALINA CHO: Do you plan to be open year-round?
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: Open year-round. When things quiet down, we want to focus on the holidays, on the gifting side. Corporate gifting, in particular.
ALINA CHO: That's so smart.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: I work in finance, that’s my core job. And when Christmas comes or the holidays come, I literally send something to quite a few people.
ALINA CHO: Right.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: I would much rather do a curated, themed, custom-made basket.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
ALINA CHO: You’ve been open a month, so I hate to even ask this question, but could you see L'Épicuriste expanding?
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: I think I want to get through the summer. And make it in one piece. People warn you. They say the summer's busy, the summer's intense, but until you've done it…
ALINA CHO: I’m sure.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: It’s nonstop, you don't close any days, you have to find the right people to work in the store. We're still getting the permits. We're transforming it from a normal store into [something more. We want to] have a little kitchen.
ALINA CHO: Oh, great.
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: All these things take a lot of time. So, I want to survive the summer. Not survive financially, survive physically.
ALINA CHO: Did you ever think you'd be a shopkeeper in the Hamptons?
CHARLIE DE VIEL CASTEL: No. [laughter]. I really did not. And I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I am, which is the good news.
Photo Courtesy: Natasha Gelashvili
That's the best part of it. I really love it.