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Syracuse furniture retailer buys sign, portion of South Town Plaza
Syracuse furniture retailer buys sign, portion of South Town Plaza
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A nearly century-old Syracuse furniture retailer has purchased the former home of Burlington Coat Factory in South Town Plaza and will open its first Rochester-area location next year.
Dunk & Bright, founded in Syracuse in 1927, has started renovation of the 72,000 square feet of commercial space along Jefferson Road in Henrietta.
Dunk & Bright, through Henrietta 3333 DB LLC, paid $2.7 million for the Burlington portion of the plaza, as well as the triangular landmark sign that until earlier this week read South Town Plaza.
Two Long Island-based entities that share the same Great Neck address, Southtown Plaza Realty LLC and Southtown Nassim LLC, were the sellers, according to documents filed with the Monroe County Clerk’s Office.
The deal took nearly two years to complete. Dunk & Bright owner Joe Bright said he submitted a letter of intent to purchase the property in December of 2023 but the sale didn’t close until Oct. 31.
Bright said his company prefers property ownership over leasing.
“We want to do our own maintenance, we like improving the space,” he said. “When you lease, you’re at the mercy of the landlord.”
The original Dunk & Bright store is located on Salina Street in Syracuse. The retailer opened a second location in the Syracuse suburb of Clay in 2022, purchasing the vacant Macy’s anchor property at Great Northern Mall.
Shopping traffic at South Town has been on the decline for years but Bright said that is not a concern. Dunk & Bright is now the only retailer at Great Northern Mall (there’s also a trampoline park and self-storage facility) “and it hasn’t negatively affected our business there … we continue to grow,” Bright said.
Dunk & Bright carries a large selection of made-in-America products, including living room furniture from North Carolina and Amish-made dining room and bedroom sets from manufacturers in Indiana and Ohio.
Earlier this year, Albany-based Old Brick Furniture & Mattress Co. opened in the building formerly occupied by Gander Mountain. Old Brick, through Fiacco Holdings Henrietta LLC, paid $7.5 million for the property at 300 Jay Scutti Blvd.
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