Schmidt's Market in Southampton closing after almost 43 years due to high rent

Owner of Schmidt's Market Dennis Schmidt says the store is closing because rent prices are getting to high.

News 12 Staff

Oct 20, 2022, 9:19 AM

Updated 783 days ago

Share:

Schmidt's Market in Southampton is closing its door after nearly 43 years in business.
Schmidt's posted to their Facebook page that everything must go.
On Thursday, they were offering 40% off all produce, grocery, dairy and drinks.
The shelves are getting empty at the store, and they will not be restocking.
Owner of Schmidt's Market Dennis Schmidt says the store is closing because rent prices are getting to high.
"My rent here is over $30,000 a month," Schmidt says. "When people are like, 'Oh, your parking lot is full,' I say, 'Well, it's $1,000 a day in rent, that's a lot of egg sandwiches.'"
He says after negotiations, the landlord still wants to sell the property at a price tag they can't meet.
Southampton Mayor Jesse Warren wrote a lettering, asking the landlord to extend the grocer's lease.
The letter reads in part, "The public outcry to their announced closing is hard to miss, and I hope you will take that as a reason to keep their business serving our village."
Schmidt says they are looking at a few locations to reopen their store.
Their last day of business will be Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The rest of the food will go to the Sag Harbor Food Pantry.