diff --git a/packages/server/src/integrations/dynamodb.ts b/packages/server/src/integrations/dynamodb.ts
index be3668a08a..9ce4201a1e 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/integrations/dynamodb.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/integrations/dynamodb.ts
@@ -131,11 +131,12 @@ module DynamoModule {
 
     constructor(config: DynamoDBConfig) {
       this.config = config
-      if (!this.config.endpoint) {
+      if (this.config.endpoint && !this.config.endpoint.includes("localhost")) {
         this.connect()
       }
       let options = {
         correctClockSkew: true,
+        region: this.config.region || AWS_REGION,
         endpoint: config.endpoint ? config.endpoint : undefined,
       }
       this.client = new AWS.DynamoDB.DocumentClient(options)