Great Neck Plaza trustees issued a conditional use permit for a Japanese convenience store to fill the space vacated by Jildor Shoes on Wednesday, setting the stage for filling a nearly yearlong Middle Neck Road vacancy.
S-Mart, to be located at 42A Middle Neck Road and owned and managed by Great Neck Plaza resident Yun Song Wang, will be selling prepackaged Japanese snacks and beverages in a roughly 2,200-square-foot space.
“All the stuff is already packaged and imported from Japan to New York,” Wang said.
Wang, who also ran a 1,500-square-foot Asian market in Stony Brook, said one reason he felt it would be good investment is because many people from Great Neck in a WeChat social group have asked where the nearest Japanese market was.
One of the nearest locations they went to, he said, is in New Jersey.
Some of the goods being considered include frozen rice bowls, fish tofu and bowls, milk tea and jing sing tea, Wang said. The store differs from H-Mart in that it’s a more targeted market.
As for the market in Stony Brook, Wang said his wife will manage it.
Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said there is “a lot of history” with the building and encouraged Wang to maintain the façade of the site.
A sign application for S-Mart still needs to be submitted and approved.
Jildor Shoes, which did business in Great Neck Plaza for nearly 60 years, closed in August. It retains locations in Greenvale, Woodbury, Cedarhurst and Southampton.
