Supermarket, Movie Theater Decline Leases on Long Island

Store closures are coming for a couple of major brands on Long Island.

Supermarket chain King Kullen is shutting down its Levittown location on Hempstead Turnpike this week, Newsday reported. The grocer declined to renew its lease after 30 years at the location.

Westbury Properties owns the 48,000-square-foot building and it’s unclear what’s next in store for the property. The closure is just the latest for King Kullen in recent years. The family-owned chain closed three underperforming stores in 2019 and another two in 2022. Last year, it closed a natural food store in West Islip.

Overall, King Kullen — which solely operates on Long Island — still runs 27 grocery stores and four Wild by Nature natural food stores.

While King Kullen’s Levittown closure is imminent, consumers will have more time to come to terms with Showcase Cinemas’ exit in Hicksville. The National Amusements subsidiary is shutting down Showcase Cinema de Lux Broadway at the former Broadway Commons at the start of next year, according to Newsday.

Similarly to King Kullen, the movie theater has been in place for roughly three decades, but corporate chose not to renew its lease. Nearby locations include ones in Farmingdale and Holtsville.

The cinema has seen its share of changes at 955 South Broadway. It started as the Broadway Multiplex Cinemas in May 1995, part of the Broadway Mall redevelopment. Eight years ago, the property was redeveloped again, becoming Broadway Commons.

In February, however, Kenneth Schuckman and his group of investors purchased the mall for a reported $40 million, less than half of what it traded for six years prior. Swiss investment bank UBS Group AG sold the mall to the tri-state investors, which also include New Jersey-based KABR Group and a joint venture between Long Island-based AJM Real Estate and Burman Real Estate.

The investors are planning a $100 million redevelopment of the site, turning the 730,000-square-foot property (separated from several out-parcels) into an open-air facility. It’s unclear if it will include a movie theater.

— Holden Walter-Warner