With Hand’s department store in North Beach Haven closing in April, Long Beach Island loses not just another retailer, but a part of the fabric of the community. It’s symbolic of the shifting ground on LBI in recent years.

Hand’s, on the south end, joins the Islander’s Store, on the north end, which closed just over a year ago, as the most recent vanishing retailer. It is another gut punch to our sense of community. Hand’s sister store, the greatly missed Ship Bottom Stores, was demolished a decade ago.