'We All Got Upset': Wild By Nature Organic Grocery Set To Close Suffolk Store

WEST ISLIP, NY — A Long Island organic grocery store chain is set to close its West Islip location.

Wild by Nature Market, which operates four other Long Island stores, will close its 478A Union Blvd in West Islip around the week of May 18, the store confirmed with Patch.

The store describes itself as a full-service natural food marketplace "keeping with the understanding that the production of food should support life, promote well-being, and protect the world’s natural resources."

A sign on the business' storefront informed customers that West Islip employees will be offered positions at its Huntington, Hampton Bays, East Setauket and Oceanside locations.

"We thank them for all their efforts and we sincerely thank you for your patronage," the sign said.

Numerous patrons took to social media last week, saddened to hear the news.

Real estate agent Megan Gardner, of Bay Shore, told Patch that she is a frequent customer of the West Islip location.

The store's closing, she said, is "personal."

A single mother to an 18-year-old with autism, Gardner told Patch that Wild by Nature Market in West Islip was a one-stop-shop for her son's dietary needs.

"He also has gluten allergies, and problems with his immune system, which is part of the autism," said Gardner. "Not only was it close to where I lived, but they had all the organic products, a lot of the supplements and vitamins, vitamins that he needs."

With a busy schedule, grabbing everyday products like a rotisserie chicken became a "lifesaver", knowing her family would always eat a healthy meal.

"When you find a store that provides healthy, safe, nutritious food, you depend on it, you rely on it," said Gardner.

In addition to its products, the store's environment felt like a community, she said. When Gardner would visit the store with her son, she felt accepted by the "phenomenal" staff.

"They saw me teaching him and helping him how to do things at checkout, like how to bag groceries or put things properly on the belts," she said. "Nobody stared. It was normal for them."

Gardner especially made these connections at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"You really got to know them on a personal level. They were our they were our heroes during lockdown," she said. "They were kind of our lifeline. Like, we didn't really go out much. But the one time we did, where do we go, right? The grocery store."

Gardner told Patch she discovered the store was closing when a "wonderful" cashier told her the news.

"The person behind me heard it, and we all just stopped in our tracks," she said. "We all got upset."

The real-estate agent reached out to Wild by Nature Market's corporate office, in an effort to keep the location open. She also posted a video on Facebook, encouraging others to do the same.

"They explained was that basically the cost of food has gone up so exponentially in such a short amount of time," she said. "That physically it's not possible to keep that store open."

Gardner told Patch that she knows of other businesses where she can access her son's supplements. However, no place comes to mind where she can purchase multiple items so conveniently, or replace the relationships she has with Wild by Nature employees.

"Not that our other grocery stores aren't great, but this one just it had a different feeling to it," she said. "You feel like you're losing family members. "

Patch has reached out to Wild by Nature's corporate office multiple times for comment.