Southampton - The books have been closed on the summer of 2009 as business owners across the South Fork head into their extended season with a mixture of caution and optimism based on their showing during the summer. They are looking forward to pumpkin season, winery tours and of course Thanksgiving and Christmas to round out their year's business.

Restaurants around the village are still offering outdoor dining. The sidewalk cafes are very popular and have given the village business community a much needed boost.

The business community is already gearing up for Christmas hoping to see activity at the cash registers when the shopping season starts the day after Thanksgiving on Black Friday, a term that reflects retailers' optimism that strong sales for the day will take their business out of the red and into the black. In the meantime merchants across the South Fork are hedging their bets as they head into fall trying to make the most out of the extended season that keeps second homeowners, day trippers and tourists from around the world flocking to their beaches and farmstands during the day before heading off to friendly bars in the evening.

Looking back on the unseasonably cold and rainy summer season most agree business was good but not great. Lower expectations at the start of the season ended with many shopkeepers reporting they were pleasantly surprised when business was "better than they had expected."

That upbeat conclusion lifted spirits on Main Streets and Malls from Moriches to Montauk this week. The weather is expected to cooperate now that Indian Summer is here. The warm days and cool nights of September and October make for great boating, golfing and fishing. The stripped bass fishermen are expected to be out in force again this year. Beach goers are still trekking to the shore with their picnic lunches, beach chairs and blankets now that summertime parking restrictions have been lifted.

The Southampton Chamber of Commerce remains open ready to direct visitors to restuarants, motels and shops. The Chamber sponsors events throughout the year designed to bring visitors to the in the off season.

Warm sunny days and the shallow water in the Bays surrounding the South Fork make it possible to go swimming until nearly the end of October. The weather is ideal for boaters, especially sailors who love the prevailing breezes out of the southwest at this time of year.

All this and more will hopefully translate into ringing cash registers as these tourists hit the bars and restaurants and stop for doughnuts and hot cider at roadside stands. Many farmers have opened their fields and orchards to visitors who make a day of it as they load their cars with pumpkins and apples at U Pick operations.

Local shoppers stroll Main Street.

Halloween is a bonanza for farmstands now that homeowners have taken to decorating their front lawns for "trick or treaters" making this holiday nearly as profitable and as visible as Christmas when homeowners go all out with lights, neon Santas and reindeer. Hayrides and corn mazes have emerged as an additional source of income for many local farmers. Christmas tree sales also give the economy a boost as the holidays approach and visitors head out east to cut their own tree or pick one out at a nursery or roadside stand. Nothing says Christmas like a station wagon with a blue spruce strapped to the hood as the family heads home to trim the tree.

"I couldn't get into a restaurant this summer," Lynda Sylvester of Sylvester and Co. said. Sylvester owns and operates retail home furnishing stores in Amagansett and Sag Harbor. She prides herself on her downtown Main Street locations. "We are not in malls," she said. Sylvester like many other retailers reported business was good but not great this summer. She hopes the trend will continue this fall as homeowners spruce up their houses for the holidays, and do some Christmas shopping too.

"I think people are buying more practical things now," she said. Sylvester noticed an increase in the number of people who where shopping locally rather than driving to points west to hit the malls or the big box retailers. "I think people realized that you have to save Main Street to save the community. If you lose Main Street you lose everything."

For the most part the weather has been very cooperative during this Fall with warm days bring foot traffic to Main Streets through the Hamptons.

In Southampton, Barristers Restaurant located on Main Street in the heart of the Village has reinstated its $5 recession burger. The recession burger is designed to help patrons fight depression during the off-season. It works judging by the crowds at lunch and dinner on Wednesday when the burger is served at its discount price. "It's cheaper than McDonald's" the waitresses say as happy customers place their orders.

Anne's Organic Market and Café on Nugent Street in Southampton is gearing up for its first fall season after a successful summer according to proprietor Jessica Greenfield. "We did all right, knock on wood," Greenfield said as she prepared for the lunch crowd at the organic café dubbed Annie's in honor of her late mother-in-law. Hamptons Magazine Editor in Chief Cristina Greeven Cuomo is a regular. "She eats here all the time," Greenfield said.

Greenfield is looking forward to the fall season. Like other business owners she has modified her game plan to segue into the new season. The café' is doing a brisk business in take away dinners by catering to working women and busy stay at home Moms. "They don't want to cook every night but they want their families to have a good healthy dinner," Greenfield said. The popular turkey meatball and penne pasta take out dinner for four will set you back an affordable $20. You can fax, email or phone in your order. Anne's stays open late to give customers more time to pick-up their orders. "Organic is in. Its time has come." Greenfield said noting she has a corner on the market as the only organic cafe and market on the South Fork.

Annie's is reaching out to schools this fall to educate children and parents about the importance of eating healthy organic foods. "We are working with Southampton Hospital too," Greenfield said. "We are selling food to them."

Annie's Organic Market and Cafe stays open late waiting for busy moms and working families to pick up healthy take-out dinners.

The menu at Annie's highlights the management's concern for customers' food allergies and sensitivities. "Please inform us," the menu reads, "so we can make your dining experience a healthy and enjoyable one."

The emphasis on health and wellness is proving recession proof at Naturopatheca, a Holistic Health Spa and Pure Beauty Lounge on the Montauk Highway in East Hampton. Spa Director Mark Dauenhauer is calm heading into the fall season. "We haven't seen a drop in business," Dauenhauer said noting Spa customers are devoted to their massages, facials and relaxation treatments. "They find the time and they find the money," he said. If you are stressing about business this fall head over to the Spa and ask for the Thai massage. It costs $160 and promises to release tension bound muscles with a combination of acupuncture and stretching. It is very popular.

If you are looking to save money, a walk along one of the South Fork's nearly deserted ocean beaches at this time of year will work wonders. For the brave hearted, a plunge in the bay is always relaxing and invigorating.

"This winter will be less scary than last year," Henry Hildreth said noting his full service department store established on Main Street in Southampton in 1842 was heading into the season optimistically. "Tumbleweed Tuesday isn't what it used to be," the shopkeeper said referring to the once desolate day after Labor Day on Main Street where merchants could here telephones ringing in stores across the street. The sounds of silence were everywhere and one could imagine tumbleweeds rolling down the street just like they do in a Texas ghost town as the city people departed. The seagulls owned the street.

Things have changed as the expanded season continues to grow. "Things are not all boarded up anymore," Hildreth said. "We have people around all year now. We should be okay. I think we will get through the winter."