Einstein Square to debut next month at iconic Southold department store

The New York Times recently profiled the North Fork waterfront hamlet of Southold, noting that Albert Einstein spent the summers of 1937 through 1939 in the area, where he visited the local Rothman’s Department Store and famously asked for “sandals,” not “sundials.” The misunderstanding led to a friendship with David Rothman, owner of the namesake store, which is being redeveloped into Einstein Square, a new downtown hub set to open on August 2. Behind the Hedges reported that Douglas Elliman’s Susan Romano and Scott Bennett are representing the commercial and residential space rental at 54180 Main Road, which Zillow shows was sold for $575,000 in early 2018. The now renovated Rothman’s store, which opened in 1919, will open to the public next month to coincide with its 100th anniversary and the 80th anniversary of Einstein’s time in Southold. Einstein once declared to Rothman that his time in Southold in 1939 was his “happiest summer ever,” before the theoretical physicist returned to Princeton in the fall. [Behind the Hedges]