Brinkmann’s Hardware in Miller Place is planning to relocate from its current location to the Ging’s Nursery property a little over a mile to the west.
Brinkmann’s has five locations on Long Island and is looking to expand its Miller Place store, one that owner Hank Brinkmann says is doing exceptionally well.
“We found ourselves with greater demand than we can handle,” he told LongIsland.com.
Brinkmann’s Hardware has outgrown its shop at 900 Route 25A, a 10,000-square-foot store that the company owns. They plan to convert the current property to a medical office. Zoning for this type of use is already in place and Brinkmann said he already has interested parties looking to lease.
An application has been submitted to the Town of Brookhaven to build a new center on the Ging's Nursery property. Brinkmann said they are now waiting on a public hearing.
Brinkmann’s Hardware has an entirely different vibe than your typical big-box hardware outlets like Lowes or Home Depot. They sell a wide selection of items for homeowners in a smaller setting with associates who are very visible. They also don’t carry many larger items in Miller Place like lumber, although that will change with the new store.
Brinkmann said the new building planned for the Ging’s Nursery site will be much larger at about 30,000 square feet and they will carry what he called convenience lumber, including a light mix of two by fours, two by sixes, pine boards and molding.
“For small projects,” Brinkmann said.
It will also include a garden center. The property is just under three acres in total.
The general store-like feel at Brinkmann’s will be retained.
“It will just be a bigger version of what we have now with the addition of a garden center,” said Brinkmann.
So far, response to Brinkmann’s plans have been positive, according to the owner. They have letters of support from the community behind the Ging's Nursery property and from the Miller Place Civic Association.
The application was officially filed about a month or so ago, according to Brinkmann.
As for a timeline, the company is at the mercy of the approval process.
“It’s in the Town’s hands,” he said.