At just under 45,000 square feet Franklin Plaza is by no means the largest supermarket anchored shopping center, yet it is a significant landmark in the history of commercial real estate on Long Island. The story behind its development expresses the philosophy that Breslin Realty follows to this day.

In 1965, Wilbur F. Breslin visited several properties on New Hyde Park Road in Franklin Square. He left with an idea.

"I wanted to build a supermarket anchored shopping center with onsite parking. That sounds very clear-cut now, but at the time retail stores on Long Island had main street parking with meters. I thought it would be better to have the stores and the parking together and by making it more convenient for the customer, generate greater profit for the stores."

There were three parcels to be assembled to make the deal work. Two of them were straightforward.

"The third was owned by a Mr. Wolf. Every time I went to meet with him he would slam the door in my face, claiming grocery stores were too expensive. I assured him that if he sold me the property I would see to it that he got $25 a week in groceries for the rest of his life. With that, the door opened."

"After securing the property, it was difficult finding a tenant. Supermarkets wanted to be on the East/West artery, but I explained that the North/South artery was more beneficial because you could create onsite parking. Finally, King Kullen agreed to a deal but when it came to signing the lease they saw the agreement with Mr. Wolf and laughed."

Mr. Wolf was offered an upfront payment for the groceries, but refused to close. He wanted his weekly groceries, nothing more, nothing less.

Finally, Mr. Wolf agreed to close on the condition that Breslin personally deliver a $25 check to him once a week. For many years, every Monday morning without fail, Wilbur F. Breslin delivered a $25 check to Mr. Wolf.

Long Island's first supermarket anchored shopping center, complete with onsite parking was born.