Newsday: New Nordstrom Rack opens at Smith Haven Plaza in Lake Grove

by Celia Young

Nordstrom Inc. is expanding its footprint on Long Island with the opening of a new Rack, the company’s more affordable chain, in Lake Grove’s Smith Haven Plaza.

The store, which opened Thursday, occupies roughly 25,000-square-foot at 2041 Smith Haven Plaza, according to the company, making it the retailer’s fifth Rack on Long Island, as consumers continue to turn to discount stores for deals.

Nordstrom declined to comment on the number of staff employed at the Smith Haven Plaza Rack.

“It’s great for the community, great for the county and great for Lake Grove,” said Adam Bass, a broker with CBRE who co-arranged the real estate deal with Eric Gillman.

Off-price stores are “thriving in our market,” Bass said.

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. will open 14 Racks nationwide this fall, said Manuela Uscher, a spokesperson for Nordstrom.

The company recently opened another Rack, in Holbrook at the Shops at SunVet, on Oct. 2. There are three other Rack locations on Long Island: at The Gallery at Westbury Plaza, Gardiner Manor Mall in Bay Shore and Manhasset Center.

“We’re excited to grow our footprint in the New York market and introduce new customers to the Nordstrom experience,” Gemma Lionello, president of Nordstrom Rack, said in a January news release announcing the store in Lake Grove.

Nordstrom has shifted away from its luxury offerings as department stores have struggled to compete with online sellers, like Amazon, and consumers have sought out cheaper retailers amid a shaky economy, said David Swartz, a senior equity analyst at the Chicago-based financial services firm Morningstar Research Services LLC.

Another off-price retailer, Ross Dress for Less, also has expanded rapidly on Long Island with locations in Hempstead, Farmingdale and one planned in Riverhead, Newsday previously reported.

Nordstrom became a privately held company in May after Nordstrom’s founding family and Mexican retailer El Puerto de Liverpool purchased Nordstrom in an all-cash deal for $6.25 billion, according to media reports. But the acquisition hasn’t changed the brand’s strategy of doubling down on its off-price chain of Rack stores, Swartz said.

“People discovered they can go to these discount-type stores and get similar merchandise at lower prices,” Swartz said. The Rack “has expanded at rates they’ve never expanded at in the past, and they’re not really opening a lot of full-line Nordstrom stores.”

The only full-line Nordstrom on Long Island is at Roosevelt Field mall in Uniondale.

The Rack at Smith Haven Plaza replaced a former Bed Bath & Beyond, and joins a handful of other retailers at the mall, including a Trader Joe’s and a J. Crew store, according to a news release from Breslin Realty, which co-owns the mall with Colin Development.

Breslin Realty’s Robert Delavale did not respond to a request for comment about J.Crew’s opening date A representative for Colin Development did not respond to a request for additional comments about the Rack’s opening at Smith Haven Plaza.

Nordstrom chose the Lake Grove store because it is located near the brand’s customer base, Uscher said. The new location allows Nordstrom to bring its clothes “even closer to those we already serve,” she added.

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, liquidating all of its stores, including the store at Smith Haven Plaza that year.

Malls nationwide have seen closures and elevated vacancy rates, according to a recent report from real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

But on Long Island, some malls have turned to experiential retail tenants to attract visitors, like the rock climbing gym at Samanea New York, formerly called the Mall at the Source, in Westbury. Other retail operators, such as Simon Property Group Inc.’s Smith Haven Mall, located next to Smith Haven Plaza, have invested millions into renovating their properties to attract tenants and consumers.