Duck Donuts, Bango eatery among new businesses headed to revamped Long Island shopping center
Jersey Mike's Subs is among new tenants at the renovated Morton Village Plaza in Plainview, seen here Wednesday. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp
A Plainview shopping center, where a Jersey Mike's sandwich shop and a My Gym children's activity center recently opened, is getting four other new tenants soon, following a multimillion dollar revamp of the retail property.
The new tenants headed to Morton Village Plaza are Boost Health and Wellness, Local Infusion, a provider of medical infusions for illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, eatery Bango — formerly Bango Bowls — and made-to-order treats shop Duck Donuts.
Jersey Mike’s and My Gym opened in the last two months.
The 115,000-square-foot, four-building shopping center, at 998-1054 Old Country Rd., underwent a $2 million renovation between 2023 and the middle of last year, property management said.
"We basically took a tired, 1980s design and turned it into a more modern fresh look for the shopping center, and in doing so, we were able to lease up spaces that had been vacant since COVID," said Michael Korff, president of Ripco Management, property managers and brokers for the center.
The shopping center is now home to a Lidl grocery, Ace Hardware, CVS and Chase Bank.
Korff said his company and the family owners of the center worked with a design team from New York City to give the property's facade a look that would attract tenants and customers.
"It was a well-located property that traditionally has been fully occupied back in the day, but it got tired," Korff said. "As retailers are looking at properties, they like to see something that is more fresh with good co-tenants."
Before taking over leasing at Morton, Korff said, the property had a vacancy rate of around 20%, but with the new tenants, the center is nearly 100% leased. Jason Sobel with Ripco Real Estate, who co-brokered the deals with Joanne Argenti, said the "leases started to fall into place one by one."
The new mix of tenants are "really servicing the community," Korff said.
Omar Athar, franchise owner of Duck Donuts stores in Nassau County, said the new Plainview shop is scheduled to open May 17, pending final approvals from Oyster Bay Town.
Athar runs Duck Donuts in East Meadow and Garden City, he said. Suffolk locations are operated by a different franchisee.
"Morton Village was one of those areas that still had a family atmosphere," Athar said. The shopping center was "the best option at the time with the new renovation and the size of the store we were getting was optimal."
Boost, a Long Island-based provider of wellness offerings like cryotherapy, cold plunges and red-light therapy, will be opening its second location at Morton Village sometime this summer, said Avi Azizian, co-founder of the business.
Azizian said a major selling point of the site was its access to major highways and to consumers in Suffolk County.
"We want to attract people farther east, like in Huntington and Syosset," said Azizian, who opened the first Boost in Roslyn in 2022.
He said parking at the center and the mix of tenants were major factors behind their site selection.
"The co-tenants are important because they generate the traffic," Azizian said.
Ryan Thorman, CEO and co-founder of Bango, a health-focused fast-casual restaurant chain set to open its eighth Island location at the center in June, said the updated Morton Village "checked all the boxes."
"With something that has been that great for so long and giving it a face-lift fits with our brand," Thorman said. "It’s a perfect fit."
Neighborhood shopping centers like Morton have diversified their tenant base to compete with online shopping, said David Caputo, data scientist with Moody’s Analytics.
Offering on-site experiences, rather than just products, is a way to compete.
"Over the past few years, retail landlords have basically been trying to Amazon-proof their centers," Caputo said. "They don’t want their entire tenant base to be stores where people can shop."
Officials with My Gym, Local Infusion and Jersey Mike’s could not immediately be reached for comment. Local Infusion is expected to open sometime this summer, Korff said.
A Plainview shopping center, where a Jersey Mike's sandwich shop and a My Gym children's activity center recently opened, is getting four other new tenants soon, following a multimillion dollar revamp of the retail property.
The new tenants headed to Morton Village Plaza are Boost Health and Wellness, Local Infusion, a provider of medical infusions for illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, eatery Bango — formerly Bango Bowls — and made-to-order treats shop Duck Donuts.
Jersey Mike’s and My Gym opened in the last two months.
The 115,000-square-foot, four-building shopping center, at 998-1054 Old Country Rd., underwent a $2 million renovation between 2023 and the middle of last year, property management said.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Morton Village Plaza completed a $2 million renovation of the four-building shopping center’s facade last year.
- New tenants Duck Donuts, fast-casual chain Bango, Boost Health and Wellness and medical infusion provider Local Infusion are scheduled to open in coming months.
- Neighborhood shopping centers like Morton Village are increasingly leasing space to non-traditional retail tenants that offer in-person services or experiences.
"We basically took a tired, 1980s design and turned it into a more modern fresh look for the shopping center, and in doing so, we were able to lease up spaces that had been vacant since COVID," said Michael Korff, president of Ripco Management, property managers and brokers for the center.
The shopping center is now home to a Lidl grocery, Ace Hardware, CVS and Chase Bank.
Korff said his company and the family owners of the center worked with a design team from New York City to give the property's facade a look that would attract tenants and customers.
"It was a well-located property that traditionally has been fully occupied back in the day, but it got tired," Korff said. "As retailers are looking at properties, they like to see something that is more fresh with good co-tenants."
Before taking over leasing at Morton, Korff said, the property had a vacancy rate of around 20%, but with the new tenants, the center is nearly 100% leased. Jason Sobel with Ripco Real Estate, who co-brokered the deals with Joanne Argenti, said the "leases started to fall into place one by one."
The new mix of tenants are "really servicing the community," Korff said.
Omar Athar, franchise owner of Duck Donuts stores in Nassau County, said the new Plainview shop is scheduled to open May 17, pending final approvals from Oyster Bay Town.
Athar runs Duck Donuts in East Meadow and Garden City, he said. Suffolk locations are operated by a different franchisee.
"Morton Village was one of those areas that still had a family atmosphere," Athar said. The shopping center was "the best option at the time with the new renovation and the size of the store we were getting was optimal."
Boost, a Long Island-based provider of wellness offerings like cryotherapy, cold plunges and red-light therapy, will be opening its second location at Morton Village sometime this summer, said Avi Azizian, co-founder of the business.
Azizian said a major selling point of the site was its access to major highways and to consumers in Suffolk County.
"We want to attract people farther east, like in Huntington and Syosset," said Azizian, who opened the first Boost in Roslyn in 2022.
He said parking at the center and the mix of tenants were major factors behind their site selection.
"The co-tenants are important because they generate the traffic," Azizian said.
Ryan Thorman, CEO and co-founder of Bango, a health-focused fast-casual restaurant chain set to open its eighth Island location at the center in June, said the updated Morton Village "checked all the boxes."
"With something that has been that great for so long and giving it a face-lift fits with our brand," Thorman said. "It’s a perfect fit."
Neighborhood shopping centers like Morton have diversified their tenant base to compete with online shopping, said David Caputo, data scientist with Moody’s Analytics.
Offering on-site experiences, rather than just products, is a way to compete.
"Over the past few years, retail landlords have basically been trying to Amazon-proof their centers," Caputo said. "They don’t want their entire tenant base to be stores where people can shop."
Officials with My Gym, Local Infusion and Jersey Mike’s could not immediately be reached for comment. Local Infusion is expected to open sometime this summer, Korff said.
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