Dominique Hydell and her husband Charles Hydell Jr. have turned life lessons from serving in the Navy into a successful — and sustainable — Southold business.
On St. Patrick’s Day in 2025, the couple opened doors to Save the Container (53795 Main Road, Southold), a refill and reuse zero-waste store dedicated to reducing plastic waste.
Dominique served in the Navy from 2012 until 2025, and Charles from 2011 to 2016.
“We’ve always had that mentality of wanting to be as safe for the environment as possible,” says Dominique. “But especially when you’re out on a boat for nine months. We’ve always had that mentality of being conscious of what we put into the earth and what we take from the earth.”
The pair lives in Peconic with their two children and being less than a mile from the shore, they felt that same approach was fitting for their neighborhood and the entire North Fork.
“We always wanted to bring that idea to this town because we felt like this town would benefit from a reusable option and seeing that it’s not as scary as what it’s made out to be,” says Dominique.
The shop carries a variety of products, including scented and unscented shampoo, conditioner, body wash, shower gel, lotion, all-purpose cleaner, baby wash and baby shampoo. Customers are expected to bring their own container, which is weighed when they arrive and weighed after they refill it to be rung up.
“We don’t really care what container it is as long as it’s somewhat clean and it can hold liquid,” says Dominique.
They also carry Turkish towels for the beach or picnic and environmentally-friendly travel products, like bar soaps and other natural products, all of which Dominique swears by herself and uses on their children.
“I was already into natural products because water on an aircraft carrier is not the nicest in the world to your skin, so I developed irritations to scented stuff,” says Dominique.
Earlier this year, Save the Container was awarded the $10,000 Backing Small Business Grant from American Express and Main Street America supporting preservation-based economic development.
Swing by with a container to check out the Southold store entering their second year of business. Save the Container is open through the winter Thursday to Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
