The Red Collection consignment shop on East Main Street is closing.
The shop’s last day will be Saturday, Sept. 28.
Store manager Susan Williams said she was as surprised as anyone to hear that the shop’s owners had decided to pull out.
Last November, owners Irene Pritchard and her son Thomas Hayes, who operate two large consignment shops in North Carolina, announced they’d decided to close the Riverhead store, citing a substantial rent increase.
But after an outpouring of community support and the intervention of Councilwoman Jodi Giglio, the landlord, Jeff Rimland, “worked with us on the rent,” Williams said.
“I worked hard to save the store and I thought we’d be here at least until the end of the lease,” which still has another year on it, Williams said.
The owners told her having an out-of-state location is “just too much,” she said.
Closing down a consignment shop is “quite complicated,” Williams said. The store’s customers have all been notified and most things have been discounted.
“I’m very sad,” Williams said.
Supervisor Sean Walter said he’d heard the store was closing and believes “it’s part of the natural ebb and flow” in any business district.
“It’s a very desirable location,” Walter said. “I haven’t spoken to Jeff Rimland about it but I think it will be rented relatively quickly,” he said, adding, “We’ll work hard to fill the space.”
A “For Lease” sign has been posted to the facade of the building that reads “12,000 sq. ft. Dividable.”
Rimland did not return a call seeking comment.
The two-story building, opposite the Riverhead Diner and Grill, is the former home of Ben Franklin Crafts and, before that, Lentin’s Department Store, which occupied the site for many years.
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