Commack Chuck E. Cheese's closes after losing lease

The Chuck E. Cheese's in Commack has closed its door after losing its lease.

Located at 2115 Jericho Tpke., it ceased operations on June 14 after the property's leasing agreement expired and new lease terms could not be reached, company spokeswoman Ami Anderson said in a statement.

The Commack store employed about 20 people, who were offered job placement assistance within the company and were given the option to relocate to another store, Anderson said.

"Each Chuck E. Cheese's location is unique and the impact of a store closing affects our guests, employees and families in the surrounding community," Anderson said. "While we are always sad when a store closes, we welcome the opportunity to locate another spot in the area to offer families a place to gather for great food and fun."

Chuck E. Cheese's guests who have reserved birthday parties or other events at the Commack store will be contacted by the company about rescheduling or getting a refund, Anderson said.

The 9,100-square-foot property may be replaced by a chain restaurant that would be new to the Long Island area, Sabre Real Estate Group managing principal Jayson Siano said. He declined to elaborate because the leasing deal for the property has not closed.

Addressing speculation that a Cracker Barrel may move into the vacated space, a company spokeswoman said in a statement, "As of now, there are no plans to convert a Chuck E. Cheese's into a Cracker Barrel."

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She added, "At this time, we cannot confirm a new Cracker Barrel Old Country Store opening in Long Island."

Chuck E. Cheese's and its franchisees operate more than 590 stores, including three other locations on Long Island -- Hicksville, West Islip and Patchogue.

Chuck E. Cheese's was bought by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in February 2014. Same-store sales for fiscal year 2014 declined 2.2 percent from the prior year.