Business

Riverhead Flower Shop moving into former Woolworth building

The Riverhead Flower Shop will move into the former Woolworth building the week after Valentine's Day, owner Peggy Kneski said. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)
The Riverhead Flower Shop will move into the former Woolworth building the week after Valentine’s Day, owner Peggy Kneski said. (Credit: Barbaraellen Koch)

A longtime downtown Riverhead business is moving up the street and into a newly renovated building.

Peggy Kneski, owner of Riverhead Flower Shop on East Main Street, said her store is moving into a presently vacant 1,100-square-foot space next-door to Goldberg’s Famous Bagels the week after Valentine’s Day. The shop will be located in the former Woolworth building, which also houses Ultimate Fitness.

“I’m ecstatic about the move,” said Ms. Kneski, who has owned Riverhead Flower Shop since 2010. The store opened in the 1970s across the street from what is now the Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center.

Ms. Kneski said she decided to move her business because rent at the store’s current 1,500-square-foot location was too high for her needs. She declined to disclose any specifics about finances but said she “really did a lot of research” when it came to scouting locations and “looked around a lot.”

Even though the move means she’ll lose roughly 400 square feet, Ms. Kneski said she isn’t concerned about working in smaller quarters. Plus, it was important to her that the shop not move too far away.

“I absolutely wanted to remain in Riverhead,” she said. “It has a tremendous amount of great people and a great customer base. I also opened a sister shop in Hampton Bays and that’s when I realized that I can, if I have to, work in a much smaller setting.

“I think it’ll be a very good transition with the lower overhead we’ll be able to turn that over in product to our customers,” Ms. Kneski continued. “I’ll be able to do more for my employees.”

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