If one thing is constant, it is that all things change. On Friday, June 12, Buckingham’s Village/Variety store closed its doors for the last time.
A sign set the tone saying, “Please come take a walk down Memory Lane, say goodbye and pick up a few bargains while you are here! Thank you for the many years of support.”
“It’s the ending of an era and the beginning of a new one,” said store manager Jamie Dick. “It’s been great here for all these years. It’s a family thing. Since I’ve lived here all my life I see friends, patients [of her dad Dr. James Dick], classmates or their siblings. I’ve gotten to know everybody. Buckingham’s was a meeting place, the crossroads of Oyster Bay. People would see friends they hadn’t seen for ages. You would always run into somebody you knew.”
Oyster Bay born and bred Patricia Aitken said, “I went down to take a last look around. There are a lot of memories in that store, going in after school, and buying all your school supplies. That was where we always went, there and to Bay Shoes for your school shoes. Just about whatever you needed, you knew Buckingham’s had it. Between Buckingham’s and Nobman’s, you had it all.”
Charles Dolan was there on Wednesday, June 17, buying a birthday card for his son.
“He’s come in over the years himself, buying greeting cards,” said Dick, who opened the doors for him as they were packing up items.
Walter Imperatore of Renaissance Property Associates, LLC, their landlord, was on site as they packed up everything for storage, making the space ready to welcome the Oyster Bay Brewing Company.
“I think it will be a tourist destination,” said Imperatore. “Making beer is a really old craft and making it in old Oyster Bay is what it is all about.”
Buckingham’s History
Imperatore gave a little Oyster Bay history lesson saying that WT Grant opened in town around 1931 at 127 South St., moved to 10 Audrey Ave. and closed in 1950.
“Harold Moscowitz started Buckingham’s in 1956 at 10 Audrey Avenue. I’m not sure when they moved to 36 Audrey Avenue. The building burned down in 1973 and Moscowitz replaced it with the current building. Island Properties purchased Buckingham’s in approximately 2000 and re-invented it as Buckingham Village in 2010 with Think Long Island First (locally made craft items). The idea was to create stores within a store. There’s a version of this in Port Jefferson. The Chocolate Lady spent some time as part of Buckingham Village. Chef Fran, Monarch Engraving and Hope for Youth Thrift (North Shore Community Church) were the remaining stores at the time we closed.”
Variety Store History
“Variety stores started with Woolworth’s in 1879,” said Imperatore. “WT Grant, Kresge, McCrory’s and Newberry’s are the ones I remember. I grew up in Port Washington and we had a McCrory’s and a local variety store—Raimo stores. The Americana Shopping Center had Newberry’s. All of these have closed. Ironically, Walmart is evolved from Walton Five and Dime, and stores like that have drained market share from the traditional variety store. Malls and Internet shopping didn’t help. There are few variety stores I’m aware of. Swezey’s in Patchogue is gone and more recently, the variety store in Farmingdale closed.”
He summed it up by saying, “The local variety store business model is all but extinct. Big names such as Grant, McCrory and Newberry have all succumbed to mega stores and the Internet. It’s certainly sad to see Buckingham go. Luckily, we have a locally grown craft brewery taking the space. I believe the attraction of the active tradition of making craft beer will be great for the hamlet and draw a diverse clientele.”
Harriet Gerard Clark, Raynham Hall Museum executive director, added, “I remember the Moscowitz family that owned it for so long. They ran a great shop. They had a wonderful selection of lampshades at the time. As well as candy. It was a classic Five and Dime.”
But of the craft beers coming in, she said, “I think it’s a great idea. It’s a sort of young peoples’ game today, and oysters go great with beer.”
While saddened that Buckingham’s was closing, Imperatore said, “Things change and having the Oyster Bay Brewing Company moving in is better than an empty store. They will bring their brewing tanks and might even be canning the beers on site, now that they have more room.”
The beer industry is changing, moving away from the standard beers the public has expected, to new flavors created by artisan brewers seeking a new market. Today, beer sellers are trying to get the public to see it as a “new wine” ready to compliment their dining experience. Things change.
Today sewing supplies are bought at JoAnne’s Fabric and stationary items at Staples and greeting cards in supermarkets and drugstores and everything is sold on Amazon. It seems that service businesses and artisanal products are the way the market is going today.
Dick herself is part of a “service” organization which she will continue to do. For the past 15 years ,she has been working with her friend Ryan Vollmer as Willow Garden Design. They design, install and maintain gardens and hire local kids to help out.
Dick’s love of gardening started in 1983 with a summer job at Planting Fields. Willow Garden Design’s reach goes from Manhattan to the Hamptons and includes working for houses and businesses, as well as being in several decorator showcases.
Jennifer Sanchez and Kate Clark, Oyster Bay High School ninth-graders, helped pack up the last items.
