"Moving into the heart of town, it was important to us to get better exposure," Ben Brinkmann told TBR News Media this fall. His family's business is building a hardware store of about 30,000 square feet on Route 25A, on the former Ging's Nursery property between McDonald's and Walgreens.
The store's floor space is the obvious story, but its driveways may matter more. Brinkmann's will have cross access to McDonald's and a planned connection to Walgreens. Next door, Trader Joe's was approved with its own connections to the Walgreens and McDonald's lots. Put together, the parcels around Walgreens are becoming one shopping block you can drive through without going back onto 25A.
Brinkmann's is expected to open around the end of 2026. Once it does, a Saturday run for groceries, a prescription and a gallon of paint can stay mostly behind the storefronts.
Four lots, three connections
The block grew in pieces, and each piece added a connection.
- Trader Joe's, 300 Route 25A. The store opened to the public on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, on a vacant 2.83-acre parcel immediately west of Walgreens. The Town of Brookhaven held its ribbon cutting the following Monday.
- The Trader Joe's access plan. The Brookhaven Town Board approved the project in December 2024. To ease potential traffic on Route 25A, the plan connected the Trader Joe's lot to the Walgreens and McDonald's lots, creating another way in and out through Miller Place Road.
- Brinkmann's to McDonald's. The new Brinkmann's property connects to the McDonald's entrance on Miller Place Road, and Brinkmann told TBR that link is already in place.
- Brinkmann's to Walgreens. This connection will let drivers travel behind the store and reach the traffic light at Walgreens. When TBR reported, it was still waiting to be paved.
Number four is the link to watch. Miller Place Road already gives the block one way out. The Walgreens connection adds a second exit at a signal, so turning across 25A traffic is no longer the only choice at that end of the block.
Why a hardware store completes the block
Trader Joe's arrived with some fanfare. Greater Long Island reported that at the December 2024 hearing, the application was filed as "the Market at Miller Place," and Town Supervisor Dan Panico remarked that the plans looked a lot like a Trader Joe's. The 13,500-square-foot store became Suffolk County's third Trader Joe's, Long Island's eighth, and the chain's easternmost Long Island location.
Brinkmann's is the piece that ties the block together, partly because of its location and partly because of what it will sell. The new building will be more than three times the size of the current Miller Place store, which is just under 10,000 square feet. Brinkmann said nearly every department will get bigger, including electrical, plumbing and building materials. The paint department will more than double, and the clothing section will expand, especially its Carhartt selection.
The south side of the building will have a garden center of about 4,000 square feet. Brinkmann told TBR it grew out of conversations with Miller Place residents after the family bought the Ging's property. "There were two requests actually," he said. "One was, 'Can you build us a pretty building like you built in Sayville,' and two was, 'Can you add plants?'" The new building was designed by the same architect who worked on the Sayville store, and the garden center brings back a service residents had relied on at Ging's Nursery before it closed.
Brinkmann also named the neighbors the new store will sit beside: Trader Joe's, Walgreens and Stop & Shop.
How the move will play out at 900 Route 25A
The current Brinkmann's is at 900 Route 25A. The family doesn't plan a gap between the two stores. Brinkmann expects both to be open for about a month. Merchandise the new store will carry moves over, and the rest is sold off in a liquidation sale at the old store. "We won't shut down the old before opening the new," he said.
If you need deck stain or a new mower blade this winter, the expected order of events looks like this:
- Around year-end 2026: the new store opens at the former Ging's site, according to the owner's estimate.
- For about a month after that: both locations are open, and the liquidation sale runs at 900 Route 25A.
- The following spring: a larger grand-opening celebration at the new store, likely paired with one of Brinkmann's bucket sales.
TBR reported that the 900 Route 25A property is under contract to be sold, but the article doesn't name the buyer or say what will replace the store. Hiring is still ahead, too. The current store has about 15 to 20 employees, and the company expects to add about 15 more. Applications are available at the existing store now, and recruiting should pick up closer to opening.
Down 25A, the Aliano Shopping Center is filling in
The Walgreens block is getting connected, and storefronts elsewhere on the corridor are changing too. Much of the 2026 activity is at the Aliano Shopping Center, 691 Route 25A, plus a pair of addresses in the 400s. As of September 30, 2026, here is where each project stands based on local reporting:
| Business | Address | What the reporting shows |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy John's | 691 Route 25A, Aliano Shopping Center | Began serving customers in late February 2026 |
| Hummus Fit | 451 Route 25A | Soft opening planned for March 13 and grand opening for March 14, 2026 |
| SoBol | 691 Route 25A, next to Jimmy John's | Grand opening announced for Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at 3 p.m. |
| TruGolf Links | 691 Route 25A, former Weight Watchers space | Lease signed in June 2026; opening targeted for "this fall" |
| Mister Softee | 691 Route 25A | December 2025 reporting pointed to a May 2026 opening; a 1,200-square-foot lease was reported in June 2026; no confirmed opening found |
| The BlackSheep | 465 Route 25A, Park Avenue Plaza | Closed by late August 2026; restaurant space advertised for sale |
SoBol's grand opening came with a giveaway. The Long Island-based açaí franchise promised free Classic bowls to the first 100 customers, $5 Classic bowls for everyone else, and a raffle whose top prize was a free bowl every week for a year.
TruGolf Links has the most to offer as the weather turns. The company's June announcement describes a 4,000-square-foot center with five golf simulators at 691 NY-25A, which would be the company's third Long Island location. LIBN gave the space as 4,100 square feet. Neither source gives an opening day, and no later report confirms it has opened, so plan on "this fall" until the company announces a date.
Mister Softee is less clear. Its spring target has passed, and as recently as Sept. 8, Greater Long Island still described the Aliano plaza as "set to welcome" the shop. Check before you drive over with ice cream in mind.
What changes for errands this winter
The changes along 25A show where the shopping district is centered now. In 2026, the new grocery store, the expanded hardware store and their connected parking lots all landed on the parcels around Walgreens and McDonald's, between Miller Place Road and the Walgreens signal. Brinkmann's moving from 900 Route 25A into that cluster is the clearest sign the center has shifted. The Aliano center has a different role, with quick food and indoor recreation. Two more of its storefronts, TruGolf Links and Mister Softee, should have firm dates soon.
Two things will change how the block works day to day. The Walgreens connection still needs paving before drivers can use the rear route to the light. Brinkmann's opening date is the owner's own estimate of "right around the end of the year." After that, the block will have four connected lots and two ways out, through Miller Place Road and the Walgreens signal.
Changes like these, a grocery store opening, a hardware store moving and a long-held property going under contract, are things we follow closely along Route 25A because they shape how a Miller Place address fits into daily life. If you're wondering how this year's changes on the corridor relate to your own home, the Dawson Realty Team can walk you through it. Request a free home valuation, and we'll explain what we're seeing and what comes next.
