Local Business Owners Set to Move into Stony Brook Square
It’s been a few years in the making, and now a Stony Brook shopping center is ready for business.
Parviz Farahzad, owner of East Setauket-based Little Rock Construction, said Stony Brook Square, located on Route 25A near the Long Island Rail Road train station, is ready for tenants to move in. The developer said he is pleased with the way it turned out.
“I think this is going to be a big deal for the greater Stony Brook community and the university and hospital and that’s what we were waiting for,” he said, adding the shopping center’s location is ideal for those waiting at the train station too as they could walk over or easily pull in and out of the parking lot before heading to the train.
Development was stalled in the summer of 2018 when the Town of Brookhaven Planning Board issued a stop-work order after inspectors discovered field changes at the site. While the Planning Board approved some of the modifications, they requested one building be moved to its initially approved spot.
Farahzad said many businesses to be found in the shopping center will be service oriented.
“That’s what the market is about,” Farahzad said. “Clothing stores — and things like that — people don’t want to open them because people shop online.”
Dental365, Druthers Coffee, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Teachers Federal Credit Unit, Organic Krush, Arnor Crepes & Bubble Tea and a Mediterranean restaurant are ready to move in, according to Farahzad. There are a few storefronts that are still available, he said, and the developer is currently in talks with prospective tenants.
Al Goldstein, of Wading River, along with his business partners Seth Goldstein, Marvin Goldfarb and Mitch Cohen will be opening Jersey Mike’s Subs in the center within the next few months. The team already owns the hero franchises in Hauppauge, Deer Park and Port Jefferson Station.
Goldstein said with living in the surrounding area and having siblings who attended Stony Brook University in the past, he felt it would be an ideal location — with a mixture of customers from the neighborhood and university.
“It’s going to be a beautiful place to shop,” he said. “There are going to be a lot of nice stores, and the students are looking for a variety themselves.”
Kathryne Piazzola, of St. James, owns Druthers Coffee with her husband Kevin Phieffer, her son Zachary Russell and his husband Michael Buchholz, who are from Port Jefferson. Piazzola said the family hopes to open the coffee shop by early May.
As a former employee of Stony Brook University for 20 years, she said when they were looking for a location three years ago, she thought it would be an ideal spot.
“I was keenly aware of needing things within walking distance,” she said. “We just thought that this was going to be the perfect location, where it’s great for the community, while great for the university.”
