Vacant in Garden City: Long Island Luggage Closes Its Doors

Long Island Luggage, a Franklin Avenue retail shop that offered a lot more than what its name suggests, has closed its doors.

According to John Wilton, chair of the Merchants, Professionals & Retailers group, "It was a small, innocuous store but a very nice man. He just couldn't compete."

When Omar Sarhan took over the family business 15 years ago, he wanted to be in Garden City, close to the physician practices and law firms that would make up a sizable portion of his target market. At that time, however, there wasn't any space available in the village's downtown so he set up shop on Voice Road in Carle Place.

It wasn't until May 2010 that an opportunity arose to take over a 1,200 square foot location at 745 Franklin Avenue. Three years later, Sarhan has said goodbye to Garden City.

The shop offered a variety of items besides traditional luggage pieces, including attaché cases for lawyers and doctors, backpacks for school-aged children, wallets, watches, accessories and more.

The Sarhan family has owned Long Island Luggage for more than 45 years. Omar's wife and three children regularly helped out at the shop. "We want to be here for the long term," Omar said shortly after opening.

Ken Ryan contributed to this article