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The 19-year-old new owner of Hamptons West in Sayville hosted a grand re-opening event Saturday at her vintage gift and home accessory store on Railroad Avenue.
Gina Salvo explained that even at such a young age, purchasing Hamptons West in January was an opportunity she just could not leave on the table.
“I was taking a gap year from school,” said the 2019 Patchogue-Medford High School graduate. “Then the pandemic happened when I was going to go away to college, and things closed. A friend of ours previously owned the store, and they were going to sell it. So they brought it up to us, and we thought: We should just go for it.”
Helping Salvo run the business is her mom Maria.
“Gina grew up with my husband and I always refinishing things and collecting vintage items,” Maria Salvo said.
The daughter and mother were joined by local officials and board members from the Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce for a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony.
The decor and eclectic inventory inside Hamptons West greets customers with a welcoming sense of warmth. Among the items for sale are pastel paintings created by 87-year-old Oakdale artist and dolls created by local artist Carol Sache, Maria Salvo said.
Gina Salvo, who swung open the doors to the shop for the first time in February, said she is thrilled to be running a business at such an early age.
“I’m very excited. As a young, non-binary, queer person, I’m very happy to have a store and have a safe place for people to come to,” they of Patchogue explained.
Gina Salvo brings a “whole new level to the term shabby chic,” said Eileen Tyznar, president of the Greater Sayville Chamber of Commerce.
“There is something for every decor and taste at Hamptons West,” Tyznar said. “It is so refreshing to see a young business owner who took a chance during the hard times of a pandemic to make a successful business.”
Please check out some photos of the event and from the inside of the shop, located at 30 Railroad Ave. Be sure to click on boxes 2 and 3 to see them all.
