Former Brooks Goes Sportive

The former Brooks building on Pantigo Road, which has been vacant for more than a year, may soon be the site of a sporting goods store. Ben Krupinski, the East Hampton builder and entrepreneur who owns the building, told The Star this week that he had found a tenant for the space, Pete Ferraro, the owner of Plaza Sports in Montauk, Rocky Point, and Centereach.

According to Mr. Krupinski, Mr. Ferraro, a Montauk resident, plans to open a similar store in the old Brooks building. Mr. Ferraro would not confirm the deal until all the paperwork was signed, however.

Mr. Ferraro's other stores sell sporting apparel and footwear, inline skates, wetsuits, boogie boards, hiking boots, Birkenstocks, sports team uniforms, and even ping pong tables.

The space is approximately 6,200 square feet, said Mr. Krupinski, and the property contains more parking than any other store in the village provides, between 55 and 60 spaces. The building also contains the Windmill Deli, with about 1,000 more square feet, which is leased separately.

Lease Wasn't Up

The former Brooks space remained vacant for a year because the drugstore's lease was not up, Mr. Krupinski said this week. He bought the property in 1989 for $1.5 million, under the corporate name Pantigo Lane Associates.

Since the drugstore's lease ended, however, he said, he has received a number of inquiries into the space for both retail store and restaurant use.

"Everyone wants to own a restaurant," quipped Mr. Krupinski, himself a partner in the East Hampton Point restaurant.

Not So Chic

Mr. Krupinski said he was happy with the idea of a not-so-chic tenant in the space, in contrast to the changes much of the rest of the village has seen, as tony businesses such as McCarver and Moser, London Jewelers, and the clothing store Kenar open shop here, supplanting the locally owned mom-and-pop businesses.

"Not everyone can buy a $100 pair of pants," Mr. Krupinski said.

So just how much rental money is the old Brooks space garnering for its owner? Mr. Krupinski was "not at liberty to say," he said, though he offered that it was "reasonable" and below the market rate.