Lidl Opening in Queens’ Glen Oaks Shopping Center Next Year
By Celia Young May 22, 2023 1:19 pm
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A new Lidl grocery store will open up shop in a long-empty storefront in Queens’ Glen Oaks Shopping Center, Commercial Observer has learned.
The supermarket chain inked a 15-year deal for 41,561 square feet in the retail center at 255-01 Union Turnpike, said Randall Briskin, who handled the deal in-house for landlord The Feil Organization. Asking rent was between $30 and $40 per square foot.
The German grocery chain will occupy 34,411 square feet of ground-floor retail space along with 5,400 square feet in the basement and 1,750 square feet in the mezzanine for offices, Briskin said.
Lidl will open next year and take over the space previously leased by Key Food, which abruptly closed in early 2022, causing some Glen Oaks residents to complain they had to leave the neighborhood to buy groceries, the Queens Chronicle reported.
But Briskin said he expects the new Lidl to satisfy Queens denizens and benefit other tenants in the shopping center.
“Grocery-anchored centers are very important in today’s world,” Briskin said. “It helps bring a strong base of customers for all the other retailers, and part of our goal is to make sure our merchandising mix in our shopping centers is well balanced to make sure we meet the needs of the customer.”
Plus, Briskin said Lidl was eager for the storefront as part of the chain’s rapid expansion in the city, including leasing space in Park Slope, Brooklyn; Elmhurst, Queens; and Chelsea in Manhattan for outposts since 2022.
Lidl will join department store Burlington, the Goldfish Swim School and McDonald’s at the 187,650-square-foot Glen Oaks Shopping Center.
Schuckman Realty’s Kenneth Schuckman and Jessica Vilmenay represented Lidl in the deal. Schuckman and a representative for Lidl confirmed the lease, but declined further comment.
Celia Young can be reached at cyoung@commercialobserver.com.
