Lord & Taylor to close all locations, Manhasset, Garden City included

Rose Weldon
Following Lord & Taylor filing for bankruptcy, its locations in Manhasset, pictured, and Garden City will close their doors. (Photo courtesy of Lord & Taylor)

Two prominent North Shore locations of a beloved luxury retailer are on the chopping block as a bankruptcy leads to liquidation.

The Lord & Taylor stores in Manhasset and Garden City were two of the remaining 38 locations the retailer had kept open following its parent company, the France-based Le Tote Inc., filing for bankruptcy in the Eastern District of Virginia’s United States Bankruptcy Court in Richmond on Aug. 2.

Now, both are scheduled to close, with signage referring to ‘going out of business’ sales and discounted prices viewable in their windows.

Bankruptcy rumors had surrounded the 194-year-old company since it closed its 11-story flagship Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue in 2019. Following the closure of a number of locations after officially filing, Le Tote had reported that it was seeking a buyer for the remaining stores.

Earlier in August, the only Long Island location of the chain to close was in Suffolk County, at the Bay Shore Mall on Sunrise Highway. The last of four stores on the island, a tenant at the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station, will also close in the new wave.

The two North Shore locations had previously undergone major renovation projects, first announced in 2016.

The Garden City location received an enhanced spa room and additions to its top-floor cafe, completed in 2016, and the Manhasset location received a 38,000 square foot expansion and additional parking, opening the new developments in late 2018.

The Greater Council of Manhasset Civic Associations called Lord & Taylor “a longstanding and formidable Miracle Mile institution and a good neighbor to the Manhasset community” in a statement to Blank Slate Media.

“We can all fondly recall our own person quality local shopping experiences at Lord & Taylor over the years,” the council said. “Indeed ourselves, family and neighbors are all saddened to see L&T fall to the financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in light of its recent substantial quality renovation. We hope that a new tenant of equal quality and stature is identified as soon as possible for this premier location.”

Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey, in whose district the Manhasset store is located, said in a statement to Blank Slate Media that she was “sorry to hear” that the chain and the 80-year-old location would be closing.

“Given that the going-out-of-business sale is just beginning, it’s still unclear what the future holds for that location,” Lurvey said. “However, I am optimistic that the change will attract a business that will have a positive impact on our town.”

No official date has been given for the closures of the two North Shore locations.

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