Whole Foods Vacates Wainscott on Labor Day

Like many vacationers on the South Fork, Whole Foods will head back to the city on Labor Day.

Just because the gourmet market's summer FARM Stand is leaving the former Plitt Ford dealership in Wainscott on Sept. 3, it doesn't mean the company is abandoning the possibility of opening up a permanent location in the Hamptons.

Michael Sinatra, a spokesman for the company, said the plan was always to close the pop-up shop on Labor Day, since landlord Gregg Saunders has plans to raze the building and build .

Asked whether the first-ever Whole Food FARM Stand venture was a successful one, Sinatra said on Tuesday: "There has been a great response from the community and we’re so happy that so many have come out to shop with us."

Whole Foods , next to and on May 22, just in time for Memorial Day weekend. The temporary location is the grocery giant's store furthest east on Long Island with the closest store in Lake Grove.

Shoppers had long been pleading for a Whole Foods, or a Trader Joe's, to set up shop on the East End.

The FARM Stand sells its line of products least-processed, natural foods, while also featuring some local goods, like Southampton's Tate's Bake Shop cookies, Hamptons Honey, and North Fork vegetables and fruit.

Sinatra wrote on his blog, that the store also features cut-to-order local seafood fresh off the boats from nearby Montauk. "Even the Northeast Region’s food truck is getting in on the action and will make appearances in the Hamptons this summer, offering an array of tacos for lunch and dinner," he wrote.

Sinatra said that the company would consider more permanent digs. "We are always looking for new opportunities around the area, however, at this time, no formal plans have been set to bring a permanent store to the area," he said.