Business

John Franco to appear at Dick’s grand opening

 

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Dick's Sporting Goods will hold its grand opening form Oct. 25 through Oct. 27.
BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Dick’s Sporting Goods will hold its grand opening form Oct. 25 through Oct. 27.

Dick’s Sporting Goods will be opening its doors next week on Route 58 next to Riverhead Raceway, with a special appearance by New York Mets Hall of Famer John Franco.

The nationwide sporting goods retailer, set to share a plaza with Starbucks, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Christmas Tree Shops, will be celebrating a weekend-long grand opening, from Oct. 25 through Oct. 27, to mark the first store in the Route 58 shopping center to open its doors.

Franco, who ranks fourth in Major League Baseball History with 424 saves, will make an in-store appearance from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, signing autographs to the first 350 fans to show up at the store, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Dick’s will soon be followed by 5 Below, a retailer that only offers products for $5 or under. The store has said its grand opening is scheduled for Nov. 1.

One shop that won’t be opening anytime soon, however, is Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which will apparently be replaced by The Vitamin Shoppe.

The plaza – the subject of years-long litigation – gained its approvals from the Riverhead Town Planning Board just under a year ago.