BNB Bank opens new full-service branch in downtown Riverhead

BNB Bank opened a new full-service branch in downtown Riverhead yesterday morning.

Located in the former Citibank building at 209 West Main Street, the new branch has a drive-up window, a drive-up ATM and safe deposit boxes.

BNB opened its first Riverhead branch last spring in temporary quarters at Summerwind Square, where it had previously opened a loan office.

Bank officials say they are excited to be opening their first full-service branch in Riverhead, a market they’ve been interested in for years but were unable to enter due to banking regulations that precluded it because Riverhead was the headquarters of Suffolk County National Bank.

“There is over $1 billion on deposit in Riverhead,” branch manager David Barczak said yesterday. “It’s an important market.”

The regulatory restriction was lifted when SCNB was acquired by Connecticut-based People’s United Bank in a deal inked in 2016 and completed last March.

BNB, founded in 1910, is the only major community bank headquartered on Long Island. It operates 38 retail branches across the island, including locations in Wading River and Mattituck.

Branch manager Barczak is Riverhead born and raised. His maternal grandfather owned the Sweet Shop on Main Street. His paternal grandfather operated Barczak Nursery on Route 58. He attended St. Isidore’s and Mercy High School. He was a 25-year Suffolk County National Bank employee before joining BNB. He was named Riverhead branch manager last year, when BNB opened a branch in temporary quarters on Peconic Avenue last year.

The West Main Street bank building was first occupied by Franklin National Bank. After Franklin National Bank failed, it was taken over by European American Bank, which was later acquired by Citibank. Citibank closed the West Main Street in December 2014. While offices occupy the second floor of the large brick building, the ground-floor bank branch sat vacant and untouched.

It required extensive remodeling — a process that took nearly a year to complete.

The interior has been modernized. The facility had 11 teller stations, Barczak said yesterday. Retail banking no longer requires that many tellers because banking has changed, with the advent of ATMs and online banking.

The bank’s loan office has also moved from the Summerwind Square location to the new branch, Barczak said.

A driveway on the west side of the building leads to the bank parking lot and drive-up windows. There is an entrance to the building from the parking lot, as well as an entrance on West Main Street.

Correction: The story has been amended to reflect corrections to the year BNB was founded (1910, not 1909) and the current number of retail branches in operation today.