Oceanside Modell's to close after company files for bankruptcy

Modell’s Sporting Goods filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey last week and will be closing 14 of its Long Island stores, including the one on Long Beach Road in Oceanside.

The company recently announced the liquidation of 19 stores in partnership with financial services firm Tiger Capital Group.

A manager at the Oceanside store told the Herald that he was not permitted to discuss the pending closure, but noted that he was informed the store would close its doors in 11 to 12 weeks. In a statement, Modell’s CEO Mitchell Modell expressed disappointment with having to close the stores.

“This is certainly not the outcome I wanted, and it is one of the most difficult days of my life,” Modell said. The stores began liquidation sales on Friday.

In recent years, it has been difficult for brick-and-mortar stores to generate business with stiff competition from online retailers like Amazon. Modell’s bankruptcy comes in the wake of similar stores like Sports Authority and City Sports going out of business.

Modell’s was founded by Morris Modell as a single store on Cortlandt Street in Manhattan in 1889, and went on to operate more than 150 stores across the northeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. through four generations of the Modell family. The store was known as “America’s oldest, family owned and operated retailer” of sporting goods, fan gear and athletic apparel and footwear. 

In addition to Oceanside, other Long Island locations for Modell’s included Bohemia, Bay Shore, East Meadow, Centereach, Commack, Huntington Station, New Hyde Park, Massapequa, Freeport and Shirley.