Khanh Sports, an athletic gear and equipment rental store that's been a fixture in East Hampton Village for 24 years, will close in February because of a steep rent increase, Khanh Ngo, the owner, said on Dec. 21.
The store's landlord recently told Mr. Ngo that he would have to begin paying between $80 to $100 per square foot for the space on the Reutershan parking lot. "That's double what I'm paying now," he said. "My heart dropped, and I got sick to my stomach."
The rent increase is especially untimely, he said, because with the pandemic the store had been in operation only since May this year. "I could understand if the rent went up in increments, but not double."