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Date: 5/10/2023
HUNTINGTON — Abdul Butt, owner of B&D Variety since 2016, has been building on his investment in the town of Huntington.
B&D’s, as it has been known for decades, offers snacks, groceries, ice cream, tobacco, dairy, coffee, ATM, drinks, bread and lottery. Last October, Butt began selling beer after obtaining a beer and wine license from the town. On May 24, he will go before the Planning Board for a full liquor license.
There is currently no other full-service liquor store since Huntington Liquors closed in December following the deaths of its owners.
Butt has also purchased the entire property at 22 E. Main St. He has stripped and renovated three commercial spaces next door, which over the years have housed a breakfast and lunch spot, pizzeria, grinder shop and ice cream. All three spaces are now empty and for rent, with new electric, flooring and plumbing installed.
Asked why he has chosen to invest in Huntington, Butt, who lives in Easthampton and also owns Union Mart at 123 Cottage St. in that city, and Lucky Mart at 286 Southampton Rd. in Westfield, called it a friendly town, a small community with nice people.
He said locals come to the store for convenience items, rather than drive out of town.
“Locals stay local,” he said.
Butt said he would like to see businesses such as a restaurant, ice cream shop, barbershop or massage spa move in next door. He said people are looking at the spaces, but nobody wants to take the chance in the current business climate.
Butt is also looking to address one of the well-known problems of the site, which is the parking lot that is pitted with potholes after every winter. Recently, he contracted with Jon Haskell of Limited Budget in Huntington to blacktop and monitor the lot on a monthly basis. He said they have just been waiting for the weather to clear before starting.
He said in a couple of years, he plans to do a complete excavation and rebuilding of the parking lot to take care of any underlying issues, after he gets back some of his investment in the stores next door.
Meanwhile, Butt said the Huntington store is profitable. He also said after he returns from a family vacation in Pakistan, he is considering opening an ice cream spot next door himself, if nobody else has come in.
Anyone interested in looking at the space may contact Abdul Butt at 413-885-9311 or ABDULBUTT@charter.net.