Beacon Paint & Hardware was open for 120 years on Amsterdam Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets, then it was closed for about two weeks, and now it’s reopening again. A sign on the door says the “soft reopening” will occur on Monday, March 2.
The new Beacon will be under new management, so don’t expect to see Bruce, Steven and Ellen Stark, the stalwart locals who ran the place for years. Bruce tells us “The landlord, The Brusco Group, has taken over the space and hired some people to run the store. It will be hardware, not paint.” He assumes they’ll have “plumbing, lumber, commercial accounts.” He wasn’t happy about it at first, but realizes “it’s better for the neighborhood than an empty store.”
Reporting by Carol Tannenhauser. Thanks to Katherine, Renee and Bob for the tips.
This is bizarre. I hope you get a statement from Brusco explaining how this happens.
What kind of explanation do you want? Bruce Stark has been very vocal that the landlords were good to them, that this wasn’t a case of landlord greed. Now you want an explanation for them choosing to open a hardware store? Why? The neighborhood needs hardware stores.
I’ll certainly be glad to see one fewer empty storefront in our neighborhood. But this will always be very sad.
Good for Bruce. That’s just the kind of thoughtful, reasoned response I’d expect from him. But the old store will be sadly missed, and the old crew even more so.
Thanks, Peter. I appreciate the sentiment.
this reminds me of Isabella’ closing… the nice Mediterranean restaurant by Shake Shack and Museum of Natural HIstory…
It sat empty for years and then RE-OPENED as another Mediterranean place. Years later…. bizarre.
Hooray! Landlord should be profiled on TV for making a wonderful decision. Good luck to the new management!
How did the landlord make a “wonderful decision”?
I’m glad a store will remain in this space but the landlord’s decision was not based on altruism or philanthropy – it was a rational business decision.
I wish the landlord luck with the space but this doesn’t mean he’s some kind of hero who should be profiled on TV.
All they really need to sell right now is hand sanitizer and surgical masks.
But will the new management still display the plumber’s menorah?
I like the idea of Beacon Hardware being around for so long, but let’s face it, they had so little stock of so few things it made shopping there almost impossible. Hopefully the new management will whip it into shape.
Beacon was very expensive! Sometimes twice the price of other hardware stores.
This is not usual nor even surprising.
It is rather common for a LL to move into space vacated by tenant to set up exact same business. One common area is laundromats for a start.
If equipment, fittings, etc.. are mostly or otherwise still in space it doesn’t take much more effort to get a new business running. It certainly is less expensive than starting out from scratch with totally empty space.
Finally there is what accounting calls “good will”. If you cannot buy an existing business, next best thing is to get their space and hope for some level of continuity.
So we’ll get our hammer and nails at 77 Street, but when it comes to paint and supplies , , , 72nd street will be my spot!