Art Emporium Moves, Esty’s Closes with Purchase of Main Street Location in Old Saybrook

288-292 Main Street, Old Saybrook (Credit: Google Map Data)

Share

TwitterFacebookCopy LinkPrintEmail

OLD SAYBROOK — The Art Emporium of Old Saybrook has moved and Esty’s Lamps has closed its doors after the purchase of 288-292 Main Street in January of 2020.

“The building needs a lot of repair and it needs restoration, the new owners are going to repurpose it and we didn’t fit their vision,” said Robert Jerome, the owner of the Art Emporium. “It’s been a positive change for us, our new space is about two times the size so we can be more efficient and we have a more visible presence in town now.”

Jerome, who moved recently to 578 Boston Post Road, near Beard Lumber in Old Saybrook, said he is happy to have been able to reopen his shop almost immediately.

“We moved into a different spot that doesn’t require any of the repairs or maintenance, we are very fortunate in that respect,” Jerome said. “We plan on being here for quite a while.”   

The same is not true for Esty’s, a lamp repair business and a fixture on Main Street for more than sixty years. The store, located adjacent to the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, has closed its doors and is facing eviction and a lawsuit from the new owners, 288 Main Street LLC.

Owner Susan Esty was asked to vacate the building by February 6.

Esty, represented by attorney Mike Peck, is now planning to sue the new owners.

As for the future of the building on Old Saybrook’s Main Street, that is still unclear. No demolition or construction permits have been requested from the town.