What's New in Commack in 2026? Three Local Comebacks

Commack got three things back in 2026. A bookstore returned to Veterans Memorial Highway in August. A South Asian supermarket on Jericho Turnpike reopened in May under a new name. The dining room Jackson's held for 19 years is expected to reopen this month as an Italian restaurant. The three came about the same way. In each case, the old local version had run out of time, money or customers, and someone who had already made the idea work elsewhere on Long Island stepped in.

The Bookstore Came Back Smaller, by Design

Barnes & Noble opened at Veterans Memorial Plaza, 58 Veterans Memorial Highway, at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. It took over the former Party City space near Michaels. News 12 reported that the store sits about two miles from the Jericho Turnpike Barnes & Noble that closed in 2024.

That earlier store was at 4000 Jericho Turnpike in the Huntington Square shopping center in East Northport, where it had been since September 2008. It closed on January 21, 2024, after about 15 years. Barnes & Noble said its lease was expiring and the landlord planned to redevelop the center. Federal Realty, the landlord, said it had no plan to redevelop the whole center, though it would consider upgrades to individual spaces. Aldi took over the old bookstore space and opened a 21,000-square-foot supermarket there in December 2024.

The new Commack store is a different format, and its size is a good example. Barnes & Noble describes it as more than 10,000 square feet of books, toys, games and gifts. Long Island Business News reported 9,885 square feet. Newsday put it at about 9,500. Whichever figure is right, it is a tighter store than the superstore that left Huntington Square.

Long Island Wave tied the smaller size to the company's current approach under chief executive James Daunt, who built his reputation running independent bookshops in London. In these stores, local booksellers decide what goes on the front tables and in the windows. News 12 reported that the chain has opened 10 stores in New York over the last three years, with four more expected later this year. In other words, Commack's store follows a format the chain has already tested and is now rolling out.

Here's what's inside, based on the company's own store listing: a children's book section, toys and games, and vinyl. The store calendar shows a storytime every Saturday at 11 a.m. The listing doesn't mention a café, so call ahead before planning a coffee stop around it. On opening day, local author Jen Calonita signed copies of Isle of Ever, Sarah Beth Durst signed Sea of Charms, and Biscuit the Dog hosted storytime for children.

The Grocery Store Joined a Larger Chain

The second comeback is about two miles east on Jericho Turnpike. When Sanjha Bazaar opened at 2160 Jericho Turnpike in 2024, owner Mohinder Pal Singh hoped it would become the largest South Asian supermarket in Suffolk County and save local shoppers the drive west to Hicksville. According to Newsday, most shoppers kept making that drive anyway.

Singh's answer was to bring in a partner from Hicksville. The store closed in April and reopened on May 7, 2026, as part of Apna Bazar, which Newsday describes as the second-largest South Asian grocer in the United States. Singh kept a minority stake. It is the chain's first store in Suffolk County. Singh explained what the partnership added:

"They are a huge brand, and they come with a lot of power. As far as the merchandising of things, the pricing, the variety. ... I was missing all that. But I knew this place would be booming one day."

The building stayed the same at 19,500 square feet. Inside, Newsday reported lower grocery prices, a larger and more varied inventory, and an upgraded café menu. When Newsday visited in May, shoppers were filling carts with spices, fresh produce and halal meat. The Hicksville stores Commack shoppers used to drive to are now, through the partnership, behind the store in their own neighborhood.

The Jackson's Corner Found a Partner Before It Found a Menu

The third comeback isn't open yet, and the way it came together is the clearest example of the pattern.

Jackson's served its last dinner at 6005 Jericho Turnpike on the last Sunday of September 2025, after 19 years as a gastropub on one of Commack's busiest roads. Soon after, a restaurant called Noto, billed as a "Modern Italian Restaurant & Lounge," announced it would take over the space. That deal fell through. One of Noto's principals, contractor Dominick Marinelli, had been a regular at Blackbird Kitchen & Cocktails in Wantagh for years, and he suggested that Blackbird's owners join him in Commack.

The two owners are Chris Perrotta, who is the chef, and Frank Ubriaco. They opened Blackbird at 3026 Merrick Road in Wantagh in 2016 and took over Rustic Root at 7927 Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury in 2021. In spring 2023 they opened Uncle Frank's Pizza & Cocktails at 3274 Railroad Avenue in Wantagh. All three are still running. Perrotta told Newsday that having a partner this time mattered. "After going all in three times and emptying out my bank account every time," he said, "it was great to have a partner."

The new restaurant is called Bar Franco. It will seat about 100, and the menu is modeled on Uncle Frank's, with artisanal pizza, pastas and Italian starters and sides. It will also serve burgers, steaks and casual entrées, the kind of gastropub food Jackson's was known for. Perrotta explained why the burger stays, even at a restaurant that sells a lot of pasta and crudo: "most nights we'll do about 35 burgers," he said of Blackbird. He also expects Bar Franco to "pull from Smithtown, Dix Hills, even Huntington."

Bar Franco will be the group's first restaurant in Suffolk County. It also puts their Woodbury and Commack kitchens on the same road, a straight drive east along Jericho Turnpike.

Perrotta is aiming to open by the end of October. As of October 3, that is still a target and not a confirmed date. If you'd like to try his cooking before then, he is cooking one night of Chefs Against Hunger, a benefit dinner series for Long Island Cares. His dinner is Monday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Tellers Next Door, 599 Main Street in Islip.

Where Each One Stands as of October 3, 2026

The Next Changes Are Ownership Changes Too

The same pattern shows up in other Commack news this year.

Mayfair Shopping Center changed hands in June. Brixmor Property Group bought the 221,612-square-foot center at 10–2020 Jericho Turnpike from Arlona Limited Partnership, its owner for many years, Long Island Business News reported on June 4, 2026. The sale itself didn't announce any new stores, but it does mean a national shopping-center owner now runs one of the hamlet's biggest retail centers.

Raising Cane's plans a restaurant at 2 Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, on the former McDonald's site. A May 2026 update projected an early 2027 opening. That is later than the late-2026 estimate reported the previous November, when local permits and approvals were still pending.

There was one closure on the list. Starbucks closed its store at 125 Crooked Hill Road on Saturday, September 26. Greater Long Island noted that Starbucks still has locations on Jericho Turnpike, Veterans Memorial Highway and Commack Road.

So, three ownership changes and one closure since spring. The bookstore came back in a smaller format the chain had already tested. The grocery reopened with a larger chain's buying power behind it. The Jackson's space found an operator through a regular customer of a Wantagh restaurant. The next date to watch is Bar Franco's opening at 6005 Jericho Turnpike, expected before the end of October.

Our team at Fran Mazer keeps a close eye on which storefronts are changing hands along Jericho Turnpike and Veterans Memorial Highway, because what opens on these roads is part of what makes Commack feel like home. If you'd like to talk through what this year's changes mean for your corner of Commack, Let's Connect.