Why did the biggest storefront at Wheatley Plaza stay dark for nearly two years when its next tenant had signed months before the old one left? Part of the answer is a lease clause, and the wait it caused is why this November is the first Thanksgiving since 2023 that Old Westbury households can pick up a turkey at the corner of Glen Cove Road and Northern Boulevard.
The store that filled the space, Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace at 130 Wheatley Plaza in Greenvale, is not built like the supermarket it replaced. It is built around its kitchen. That makes the next three weeks the clearest look yet at what the plaza's anchor tenant is now.
The Tenant Was Signed Before the Lights Went Out
In July 2024, Newsday reported that Stop & Shop had named its Greenvale store as one of four Long Island locations it would close, calling them "underperforming" and setting a closure date of on or before Nov. 2, 2024.
Three days later, Newsday followed up with the replacement. Uncle Giuseppe's CEO Carl DelPrete said the chain had signed a lease about two months earlier and expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. The same report identified the plaza's owner as Manhasset-based Castagna Realty Co.
So the new grocer was lined up before the old one had even closed. Shoppers were still expecting a gap. When the Herald covered the announcement in July 2024, North Shore shoppers it spoke with listed the fallbacks they were weighing: Instacart, Trader Joe's, or a longer drive.
Why "First Quarter of 2026" Became Mid-August
The space emptied in fall 2024. Construction still couldn't start. In a July 2026 Newsday report, Uncle Giuseppe's spokesman Nicholas Renna explained that Stop & Shop's lease rights ran until mid-2025, even though the store had already closed. "As a result, we were not able to begin our full build-out until we had access to the property," he said, adding that the chain's process takes 12 months from lease signing.
The clause shut the new tenant out for roughly the first eight months after the space emptied. Here is the sequence:
| When | What happened at 130 Wheatley Plaza |
|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | Uncle Giuseppe's signs its lease, about two months before the July 2024 report |
| July 2024 | Stop & Shop announces the Greenvale closure; Uncle Giuseppe's targets Q1 2026 |
| Fall 2024 | Stop & Shop vacates the 52,000-square-foot space |
| Mid-2025 | Stop & Shop's lease rights expire and full build-out can begin |
| Mid-August 2026 | Uncle Giuseppe's opens its 13th store |
From the time the chain got access in mid-2025, the store took about another year to open. The rest of the plaza kept running in the meantime. Long Island Press profiled Code Blue, a gift, book, clothing and accessory shop that opened at Wheatley Plaza in March 2025, while the grocery space was still waiting to be released. The plaza's own site now lists Sephora as "Coming Soon," with no opening date.
A Supermarket Built Around a Kitchen
The old space now holds a different kind of store. Long Island Press toured it on opening day and listed what's inside: a signature deli, a pizzeria, a seafood department with prepared meals, a butcher shop, a mozzarella room, a pasta room, a scratch bakery, and a full kitchen where prepared foods are made from scratch each day. Company president Michael Nelson told the outlet the store emphasizes natural and organic foods and carries one of the chain's largest selections of Italian specialties.
"We really leaned in on creating a great center store and grocery experience here." Michael Nelson, president of Uncle Giuseppe's Marketplace, speaking to Long Island Press
The same report says the Greenvale store employs about 300 people, most of them new hires. The detail regulars will notice first is out in the lot. Nelson told Long Island Press that parking can be tight, so the store runs a courtesy golf cart shuttle between the parking area and the entrance. The carts have Italian horns and music, and the shuttle runs on a regular basis rather than only during opening week.
Regular hours on the Greenvale store page are 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with Sunday hours ending at 9:30 p.m.
Thanksgiving Is When the Kitchen Takes Over
A prepared-food kitchen is a side feature most of the year. Thanksgiving week, it runs the store's catering. The chain's 2026 holiday page offers full packages or à-la-carte orders. The menu includes:
- Whole roasted turkey or sliced turkey breast
- Traditional, apple-cornbread, or sausage-and-chestnut stuffing
- Baked ziti, penne vodka, and pumpkin ravioli
- Brussels sprouts, hot honey carrots, mashed and sweet potatoes, and candied yams
- Antipasto, shrimp cocktail, and stuffed mushrooms
- Pies, cheesecakes, and Italian cookies
The pasta dishes come from the store's own kitchen. A family that wants ziti next to the turkey can order both from the same kitchen that makes the mozzarella in-house.
The catering ordering page lists Greenvale at 130 Wheatley Plaza, Greenvale, NY 11548, phone 363-213-8300, with both delivery and pickup available. The dates that matter for 2026:
- Saturday, Nov. 21, by 9 p.m. Last day to order.
- Nov. 22 through Nov. 26. The holiday menu is the only catering menu available, so regular catering orders that week go through it.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25. Pickup from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Delivery windows are 8 a.m. to noon, noon to 4 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 26. Pickup and delivery from 7 a.m. to noon.
Orders have a $100 minimum, and delivery fees depend on distance from the store. Requested delivery times aren't guaranteed and may be moved into one of the listed windows, which are confirmed 24 hours ahead. Everything arrives cold with reheating instructions. The chain lists package sizes differently on its holiday page and its ordering page, so confirm how many people a package serves while you are ordering.
If you are hosting an office gathering before the holiday, the corporate holiday menu runs Nov. 2 through Nov. 20, with orders due at least two days ahead. Packages serve up to 15, 30 or 60 people and come with sliced turkey breast, a choice of sides, pasta, salad and dessert, plus gravy, rolls and setup. That window is already open as this post goes up.
The Rest of the Season, a Few Minutes Away
The same late-November weekends overlap with the holiday calendar at Old Westbury Gardens. Public sales for its Dec. 12 Holiday Wreath Workshop open Nov. 16 if member sales leave seats, and the session runs from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Christmas at Westbury House follows on Dec. 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20, with period-decorated rooms, Santa, cookies and warm cider. On Dec. 6, The Long Island High School for the Arts holds holiday caroling in the Red Ballroom from 11 a.m. to noon. Caroling is included with admission, and seating is limited.
For Thanksgiving itself, the date that matters is Saturday, Nov. 21, at 9 p.m., the last chance to order from the new store at Wheatley Plaza.
Wheatley Plaza's anchor space has a grocer again for the first time since fall 2024. If you would like a discreet conversation about how the corridor along Glen Cove Road and Northern Boulevard bears on your property, Dalia Elison is glad to talk. Schedule a Confidential Consultation.
