X-Golf opens at Samanea New York mall in Westbury

Samanea New York’s first permanent entertainment tenant has opened since the Westbury mall’s buyer started working to turn the formerly mostly vacant property into a “lifestyle destination."

X-Golf, a combination indoor golf simulator, restaurant and bar venue, opened at the mall March 10, and hosted a grand opening event with local political and business officials Tuesday.

Christopher Sciocchetti, 37, co-owner of the X-Golf franchise, became interested in opening an indoor golf simulator after seeing one in Poughkeepsie several years ago, he said.

“And during COVID when I saw the love for golf and the passion for golf, the amount of people that golf around here, I realized it was time.  This area needed one,” the Merrick resident said. 

Occupying 6,300 square feet, X-Golf has six employees and eight bays that each have simulations of 46 golf courses from around the world, Sciocchetti said.

X-Golf’s presence at Samanea New York, formerly called the Mall at the Source, aligns with the landlord’s efforts to change the fortunes of the once-struggling, 750,000-square-foot property with a renovation and a focus on bringing in restaurant, entertainment and home furnishings tenants, which are less susceptible to online competitors than apparel and shoe stores.

“We steered away from the traditional mall of solely retail.  And, so, we incorporated a component of entertainment, as well as our Restaurant Row on Old Country Road, as well as some unique, one-of-a-kind tenants. ... It was important for us to find the best use for the property,” said Dominic Coluccio, director of real estate at Samanea New York.

The mall is now 76% leased and 56% occupied, spokeswoman Audrey Cohen said.

Change in direction

Lesso Mall Development Long Island Inc., a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Lesso Group Holdings Ltd., bought the property for $92 million in 2017 after years of it being mostly vacant, and changed its name.

Located at 1500 Old Country Rd., the mall underwent a $30 million renovation that was finished in March 2021 and included creating a more convenient layout and more access points; reconfiguring the foot traffic flow; and closing the food court on the second floor. 

Also, the new Restaurant Row will be made up of fast-casual and casual restaurants that will have their own interior and exterior mall entrances on the first floor.

A handful of tenants remained throughout the revamp.

One was Dave & Buster’s, which is the largest tenant, at 46,660 square feet, and the oldest entertainment venue in the mall, where it opened in 2006 after taking over a spot that had been occupied by Jillian’s since 2001. Dave & Buster’s acquired that Westbury location and eight others from bankrupt competitor Jillian's Holdings Inc. in 2004. 

By May 2021, there were only six tenants in the mall, including The Cheesecake Factory, Fortunoff Backyard Store, Leon Banilivi Rugs, Bloomingdale’s Furniture Outlet and Kawai Piano Outlet.

The mall now has 14 operating tenants, including Asian grocer 99 Ranch Market, which opened in April 2022 in 45,602 square feet of space that was vacated by Circuit City in 2009. 

Other tenants include Leonardo Furniture, Arteco Cabinetry, German Kitchen Center, Szechuan Cuisine and K-Pot, a Korean hotpot and barbecue eatery.

Delays for some tenants

Several businesses that have signed leases have had their openings delayed.

X-Golf was supposed to open in the second quarter of 2022. MoCA Asian Bistro was supposed to open in early 2022. And Empire Adventure Park, a family entertainment center, was supposed to open in the last quarter of 2022.

Some of the delays were due to the mall needing a parking variance approval from the Town of Hempstead, Cohen said.

“The property was required to conduct a parking variance with the [town’s] Board of Zoning Appeals for upcoming tenants, including Empire and X-Golf, and the zoning variance was presented to the BZA on Dec. 7,” she said.

After the board approved the variance, X-Golf and Empire Adventure Park were able to proceed with obtaining their building permits, she said.

Empire Adventure Park and Ryco’s Escape Room are expected to open in the fourth quarter of this year, Cohen said.

MoCA Asian Bistro should open in the fourth quarter of this year or early next year, she said.

Membership-based crafting center Let’s Craft will open soon, while The Gravity Vault, an indoor rock-climbing gym franchise; Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, a Shanghainese eatery; and Icchiddo Ramen are expected to open in 2024, Cohen said.

The mall’s revamp and varied tenant mix are going to make it a strong draw for new foot traffic, said Rockville Centre resident Matthew Mullen, 54, who will co-own Empire Adventure Park with his wife, Jennifer.

“Absolutely. I love the location. Obviously, Westbury is phenomenal for business. And the co-tenancy that we have, the mix of X-Golf, Let’s Craft, Dave & Buster’s and the rest in there, that’s going to be a great location for us and whoever else comes into the mall,” he said.