If you’ve spent any time on the South Fork, chances are you’ve walked into Schmidt’s, inhaled the delicious aromas of what’s cookin’ in the back or gazed at the dazzling selection of house-prepared dishes, sausages and meats, sushi, fresh produce and flowers and all other fill-your-basket and pantry sundries, and walked out with more bags than you thought you would.
So when Daniel Schmidt opened the newly minted Schmidt’s Country Market in Quogue after his father closed the last and longest incarnation of his shop, Schmidt’s Market in Southampton last October, the East End breathed a collective sigh of sandwich-loving relief.
“We’re Schmidt’s Country Market and we opened March 31, just about four weeks ago,” said Daniel, son of Dennis, whose Schmidt’s Market was a staple of Southampton for 33 of his 43 years in business. He also had an outpost in Shelter Island for several years, to the delight of that water-bound community while it lasted.
“This business is what I know; it’s in my blood,” says the younger Schmidt. “I grew up loading and unloading the trucks, going to the Hunts Point Market with my dad, uncle and grandfather. I’ve been working in the business since right out of high school.”
Taking over the space that was the Quogue Market, the new digs for Schmidt are ample and airy, with lots of room for their gargantuan supply of gourmet groceries, house-made prepared meals and dishes and, of course, their freshly made sandwiches. “Chef Anthony has been with me for 25 years,” Schmidt says of his culinary secret weapon in his in-house kitchen, making everything from lunchtime staples like fresh tuna salad and house-made roast beef for sandwiches to speciality items like gorgeous stuffed artichokes and full-on meals to-go. “He came up with our other talented chefs, like Mike Mosolino.”
Stocked and ready for the season, Schmidt’s Country Market, located at 146-148 Jessup Avenue in Quogue, is currently open seven days a week: Monday to Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with take-out catering and local delivery available, too (for orders, call 631-653-4191 or stop in).
It’s an ambitious schedule, but one Schmidt is excited and ready for. “We don’t want to lose steam going into the season,” he says. “We’re putting our best foot forward!”
