Ben's of Bayside Extends Lease

John Mitty Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Ben’s Delicatessen Restaurant & Caterers has announced that it has signed a five-year lease extension at its Bayside location at 211-37 26^th Avenue, inside the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. The extension will take effect January 1, 2014, which at that time will mark Ben’s 20^th year at that site.

Ben’s of Bayside, which opened in 1994, had its current lease renewed in January 2009 after a contentious battle took place between Ben’s and the shopping center’s landlord, who looked to place a chain restaurant in that same location. After a public outcry, Ben’s was allowed to stay and its lease was renewed for five years, with a five-year tenant option.

The eatery has 230 seats, including 150 in the main dining room and 80 for the private party room, which is available for free for businesses and community groups Monday through Thursday for meetings, card games, mah jongg and parties. In addition to its restaurant in Bayside, Ben’s has three locations on Long Island — Woodbury, Carle Place and Greenvale — one in Manhattan and another in Boca Raton, Florida.

“We are glad to stay another five years in the Bayside location,” says Ronnie Dragoon, Founder-Owner, Ben’s Restaurant Group. “This will give us the opportunity to continue serving our longtime customers, who have stayed with us all this time. Signing the lease extension is our way of saying ‘thanks’ to our loyal customers.”

What makes Ben’s stand out is that it is the only independent restaurant in the shopping center among a cluster of national chain eateries and has been at its current locale for the past two decades, a rarity in the restaurant business.

“Without continued support, independent restaurants like Ben’s — which prepares fresh food from scratch and has much higher costs than the national chains, many of which buy their food pre-made to be reheated — will slowly be forced out of business,” Mr. Dragoon says. “Because of lower food and labor costs, these chain restaurants can pay higher rents and, therefore, can displace independents like Ben’s from good quality locations like the Bay Terrace Shopping Center. Fortunately, we not only have very loyal customers who have been coming to Ben’s for years, but many families with children who are looking for freshly prepared food and high-quality standards our restaurants provide.”

For more information, visit www.bensdeli.net.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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