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Next year, Long Islanders can look forward to another wholesale club super store where they can pick up household essentials.
A BJ’s Wholesale Club is coming to Commack at the site of the former Macy’s on Veterans Memorial Highway. According to Town of Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim, the new retail location will open shortly after the new year.
A press release for the new location released in May states the store will boast an “extensive selection of fresh foods, a full-service deli and household essentials like paper products, cleaning products, diapers, pet supplies… fashion for the family, seasonal items, toys, hot tech and a selection of local products.”
Public hearings were held for the proposal early last year, during which community members expressed discontent with the large-scale project.
“There was quite a bit of residential opposition, mainly based on traffic,” Wehrheim said. “That has waned and their operation states that they do most of their trucking at night because there’s no time during the day to do that.”
The supervisor added that the wholesaler’s original proposal called for two pad sites in the shopping center, which the town rejected to alleviate additional congestion and retain sufficient parking space.
For BJ’s, the Commack location is but one of six new locations planned on the eastern end of the U.S. There other five locations announced will open in Seabrook, New Hampshire, Port Charlotte, Florida, South Fayette, Pennsylvania, Ross Township, Pennsylvania and Lansing, Michigan.
“We’ve made great progress accelerating the pace of our new club openings in the last few years and we’re looking forward to opening six new locations this fiscal year,” Bill Werner, executive vice president for strategy and development, for BJ’s Wholesale Club said in the press release. “We’re excited to bring the value and convenience of a BJ’s membership to more shoppers as we continue extending our reach across the eastern United States.”
As for community response, Wehrheim said backlash has waned, only to be replaced by excitement for the new store. “In the last couple of months the only thing I’ve heard is people inquiring as to when it’s going to open because they’re anxious to go shop there.”
