By Dana Williams
But their concerns were eased a bit on March 19, when they were informed that Shoppers Village, a popular indoor vendors market that closed nearly 15 years ago, will soon return to the building for business.
Shoppers Village first opened in 1981, covering 50,000 square feet, and it expanded to a two-level operation in 1984. The company closed in March 1995 and the owners sublet the four-story building to National Wholesale Liquidators later that year.
Last Nov. 10, however, NWL filed for bankruptcy, a victim of the economic downturn and the drop in consumer spending, and moved to close 35 of its 45 stores — including its headquarters in West Hempstead.
“One of our biggest concerns is that we don’t want to see another empty building in our community,” said Rosalie Norton, president of the West Hempstead Civic Association. “The Shoppers Village operation coming back to West Hempstead is definitely good news to hear.”
The market will return as a two-story operation, and will include vendors of clothing, jewelry, footwear and collectible items, among other products, representatives said. Shoppers Village plans to accommodate approximately 175 vendors, officials said, and is expected to provide jobs for nearly 300 people.
The flea-market-type business, which will have 350 sales compartments on a two-story, 125,000-square-foot selling floor as well as a new food court, will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. “Shoppers Village is going to be a duplicate of what it was years ago, meaning the same type of layout and the same type of selling spaces — with some new features,” explained the market’s president, Ron Morello. “We already have lots of vendors signed up to sell their merchandise, and many of the people who are renting booths are just very excited to be returning here to do business.”
And those vendors, Morello added, include the well-known “pickle guy,” who was a shopper favorite. “I can smell the pickles already,” said resident Seth Bykofsky, who was a regular shopper at the establishment years ago, with his wife Joan.
“With flea markets seemingly a nostalgic throwback to a bygone era,” Bykofsky said, “the return of Shoppers Village, and with it, hopefully, an influx of shoppers from near and far, would be a most welcome shot in the arm for West Hempstead’s business district.”
“I am very excited about the reopening of Shoppers Village,” added Karl Riesterer, president of the West Hempstead Chamber of Commerce. “It has been closed for about 15 years, and in the times that we have right now, this is something positive. There are many people out of work today, and this could be an opportunity for the moms and pops to enter the business field again.”
Morello said that construction is about 75 percent complete, and he is aiming for a grand reopening in May. “Our target opening date is May 1,” Morello said, adding that management anticipates a return to 100 percent occupancy. “We have a lot of vendors here who are ready to get to work ... and Shoppers Village is really going to create a lot of revenue for this town.”
With the nearby Courtesy Hotel slated to be demolished and replaced by a luxury rental apartment complex, many community leaders agree that the return of Shoppers Village is another step in a positive direction for West Hempstead. “The ice has been broken for revitalization in West Hempstead because developer Trammell Crow’s apartment building is coming to the area,” Town of Hempstead Councilman Ed Ambrosino, who represents West Hempstead, said during a Reporters Roundtable on March 20. “Shoppers Village will be a good addition to West Hempstead’s business district, but I really see it as a start of bigger and better things to come.”
For more information on Shoppers Village, go to shoppersvillage2.com or call (516) 486-5404.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
