Click here for Greater Long Island newsletters. Click here to download the iPhone app.
The Gap store in Port Jefferson Village will be closing its doors after 25 years in business.
An employee confirmed the store will finally shut down on April 25.
Though the employee also said that current red signs advertising discounted items in the store were not part of a close-out sale.
“It’s a huge loss,” Barbara Ransome, the director of operations of the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce, told GreaterPortJefferson at the chamber office Monday. “The bottom line is we are losing an anchor store in the middle of our downtown business district.”
The landlords are already seeking a replacement for the 10,000-square-foot space. Although there are ideas being bandied about, the one that would appeal to the chamber would have certain qualities.
“Certainly we would prefer to have something that would be attractive for foot traffic,” Ransome said. “We would not be in favor of professional offices and certainly medical would not work well in a downtown area.”
She said a restaurant might be an option, but would have to overcome some hurdles.
“Retail is challenging, and a national tenant has its restrictions and limitations,” Ransome said about the plans to replace the store.
The business environment has been a tough one for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Earlier this month, Gap, Inc. announced it would be closing over 200 stores over the next two years amid disappointing sales this past holiday season.
Ransome said another idea is to subdivide the space.
She said that the Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce will work with the landlord to find a replacement.
“The chamber is trying to be proactive to assist in any way possible to bring in ideas for a tenant,” Ransome said.
