New stores officially open

Last week, two new stores officially opened their doors to the Oceanside and Island Park communities with their grand opening celebrations: Ribeye Bros. Cheesesteaks and Luciana’s Closet.

Ribeye Bros., in Island Park, was founded on a simple concept: good, Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks here in New York. The store has been open for about a month and a half, but June 2 marked its official grand opening.

“It feels great. We’re officially on our way,” said owner Damian Walsh Jr. “Hopefully on our way to a successful summer. We’ve been really busy, and each week has been getting better and better.”

Luciana’s Closet is a new store in Oceanside. The owner, Luciana Makower, always wanted to open up a boutique, but didn’t think that a store like that would be successful in today’s economic climate.

“I thought a consignment boutique would be a great concept, because all of us girls have a lot of things in our closets that we don’t use,” Makower said. “Sometimes even brand new items with the tags on. And I said, why not make a store for everybody to sell their beautiful items?”

Opened just a month ago, Luciana’s Closet is consignment boutique — it sells high-end fashion at prices one third (or lower) than retail. Most of the items are pre-owned, but they have all been hand selected to make sure that they are in like-new condition.

“Our line here is from jeans to gowns and everything in between,” said Makower. “We have trendy, casual daywear. And then we have evening wear, special occasions, mother of the bride. We also have jewelry, designer handbags, designer shoes.”

Luciana’s Closet also held its grand opening on June 2, nearly at the same time as Ribeye Bros. did.

“It felt amazing,” Makower said about her grand opening. “It felt like now it’s real.”