SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Hearts were heavy at Schmidt's Market in Southampton on Friday as longtime customers filed in, teary-eyed, to say a sad goodbye to a business that had been a fixture on the local canvas for decades.
According to Dennis Schmidt, owner of the market on North Sea Road, his lease expired in September and then the building's owners decided to sell at a price that was “unaffordable”.
Schmidt said that although he paid $5,500 out of pocket for a 58-page appraisal that priced the property at $4.5 million, the site is on the market for nearly $9 million. The owners told him they had to vacate by Dec. 1, he said.
And, like many longtime residents and businesses in the local community, escalating real estate prices have forced Schmidt's to close its doors — the last day will be Saturday, he told Patch, to allow time to remove all the equipment from the Building.
“It's heartbreaking,” Schmidt said. “We feel bad for the community. We like to serve the community.”
Schmidt's, he said, has been in business for 43 years, with 33 of those at the current location in Southampton Village.
So passionate was the outcry to save the business that even Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren wrote a letter to the property's owner, asking for a one-year lease extension.
“I am writing on behalf of the residents of Southampton Village, who have so much love for your tenant,” Warren wrote. “We were all deeply saddened to learn that they will be closing. Schmidt's is a staple of our community where we can go to get reasonably priced groceries, order a sausage, egg and cheese, and know that you are being served by a family. The absence from Southampton would leave so many deeply missing their personal touch.”
He added: “The public outcry over their announced closure is hard to miss and I hope you will take it as a reason to keep their business serving our village.”
This week, Schmidt posted on Facebook about the closing, stating that everything must go and that all produce, groceries, dairy and beverages will be 40 percent off. “Please download. Thank you for 42 years of support,” the post said.
Schmidt told Patch that saying goodbye is painful. “It's tough, because everyone is coming in, giving us a hug. I just had three ladies in line with tears in their eyes,” he said. “But I feel like we should be here — to say goodbye.”
However, all hope is not lost: Schmidt said he is looking for a new place. “We prefer to stay in this area,” he said.
The property owners could not immediately be reached for comment.
