New Lidl Celebrates Grand Opening In Riverhead

RIVERHEAD, NY — A new Lidl supermarket opened on Route 58 in Riverhead Wednesday.

A grand opening event was held to officially launch the new, stand-alone store, located at 1151 Old Country Road, the former Toys 'R' Us site.

The Riverhead store is Lidl's 18th on Long Island. Last month, a Lidl opened in Westhampton Beach on Sunset Avenue, after residents had been without a supermarket for months.

Lidl said in a release that it offers a "leading wage and benefits package" that includes a starting wage of $16.50 an hour and medical benefits for all team members regardless of the number of hours they work per week.

Lidl also partnered with the John Theissen Children's Foundation to raise money for kids in need on Long Island; during the grand opening, Lidl donated 50 cents to the organization for every new myLidl member who signed up and set the new store as their home store.

Riverhead Town Councilwoman Catherine Kent applauded the company's focus on adaptive reuse.

"Lidl is a perfect example of how vacant buildings can be reused," she said. "Instead of taking down trees and putting up another building, LIDL did a beautiful job refurbishing and landscaping an existing space."

"Thank you for joining our business community, which is growing quite rapidly," said Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar. "I am very happy to welcome Lidl to its new home on the Route 58 corridor. I wish you many successful years in your new location and I look forward to shopping there with my family."

New York State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio added: "I am honored to welcome Lidl into our neighborhood and have them join the Riverhead community. They use local and regional farmers and will provide affordable and easy grocery shopping to families in the area. We are excited for Lidl to serve our friends and neighbors."

At the grand opening, the first 100 customers were presented with gift cards ranging from $5 to $100 each; shoppers could also enter to win a $500 Lidl gift card and enjoyed giveaways.

The store will feature fresh produce and flowers, as well as a bakery, Lidl said.