By Alex Ginsberg
One month after it opened for business in the Glen Oaks Shopping Center on Union Turnpike, Burlington Coat Factory is proving to be a boon to customers and the community.
Nora Comer, a manager who is on loan to the store from her post in Patchogue, L.I., said she could not discuss concrete sales figures. But she did indicate that business had been good so far.
“The store is doing wonderfully,” she said, “and we’ve had a great response from the neighborhood.”
Bill Minyard, the retail chain’s regional manager, seconded those comments.
“Reaction has been much better than we anticipated, especially in men’s and ladies’ clothing,” he said. “It’s phenomenal. And we had a very good reception from the public in the area. Neighborhood residents like the fact that we’re there.”
He also declined to discuss sales figures but said the company was pleased with the numbers that the store was producing since it opened March 21.
For Andrea Tomashoff of Bayside, an outing to the store on a recent Monday morning was already her third. Or her fourth. She wasn’t sure because she had lost count.
“It’s laid out well, so it’s easy to shop,” she said. “I like that the prices are discounted. And there’s a nice variety.”
The store is the first Queens location for the Burlington chain. It offers 53,000 square feet of coats, apparel, shoes, accessories, furniture, baby clothes and toys. Community leaders and residents had hoped that its opening would help stem the flow of retail dollars out of the city and into Nassau County’s big shopping malls.
That was certainly the case with Tomashoff, who said she used to regularly make the trek out to Long Island to shop at the Burlington Coat Factory in Garden City.
But she said she was now delighted to be able to spend her dollars closer to home. She checked the prices on two shirts — $6.98 and $9.98 — while her 15-year-old son, Michael, tried on pants in a dressing room.
“I do very well for him here,” she said.
Workers in the store reported good customer volume.
“We are busy,” said Lisa, a worker in the youth department who did not want to use her last name. She said the busiest times were after school and in the evening, as well as the early mornings.
And some of that volume, it appears, is spilling over to nearby businesses in the shopping plaza.
Errol Smith, manager of the Duane Reade next door, said he had noted a definite increase in business over the past month.
“It’s a great change,” he said. “The whole shopping center has increased. We appreciate the opening. It’s good for the community.”
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
