King Kullen to Close Port Washington Store

King Kullen, billed as “America’s first supermarket,” will close its Port Washington location at the end of December.

“The decision to close the store was based on the lease expiring and other options that we will not be renewing,” said Joseph Brown, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer of Bethpage-based King Kullen Grocery Co.

“We do not anticipate a layoff of employees, as they will be offered relocation to other stores,” he added.

Fierce competition for foot traffic has long burdened the region’s supermarkets striving to stay profitable. In Port Washington, a considerably larger and newer Stop & Shop is barely half a mile away from King Kullen, which had expanded and added a Wild by Nature store-within-a-store more than 10 years ago.

Now, news of the store’s closing is spreading through Port Washington. Its departure is a loss to those who did the bulk of their family’s shopping there, or found their first after-school job there, or fundraised outside the store with their scouting troops.

“I’m sad to see their time in Port Washington come to a close,” Mayor Bob Weitzner said. “They’ve been in the community for a long time.”

Located at 3 Shore Road at the Soundview Marketplace, King Kullen served as a staple in Port Washington. Village of Port Washington North records show that King Kullen has enjoyed a presence in the shopping center since at least 1962, though the supermarket was originally where Ace Hardware is currently.

In the last several years, however, Soundview Marketplace, which was owned by ACISoundview LLC, had been in bankruptcy. The shopping center emerged from bankruptcy and changed hands in the last eight months, village officials said.

Weitzner said the new owner, listed as LBUBS 2207-CT Shore Road, LLC, has already made numerous and much needed improvements to the shopping center. Those include fixing potholes, restriping of parking spaces, repairs to the roof, a new air-conditioning system at the Soundview Movie Theater and improved lighting.

Weitzner said the new management has assured the village that it is “exploring opportunities with other businesses” that might come into the shopping center “within the year.” The 48,000-square-foot space space may be split in half for a new tenant, and then subdivided again if necessary.

The Village of Port North’s “building department is very efficient,” Weitzner added. “We’re turning permits around in four-to-six weeks from start to finish. We know that’s important. We’ll do everything possible to assist in getting new tenants into the shopping center.”

Image: King Kullen/Facebook

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