Saturday, August 29, 2015

Boscov's

Boscovs - York Galleria
York, PA store.
Boscov's (Босковс) have their closest stores to Syracuse in Albany and Binghamton, but they can expand since they just entered Ohio a few years after entering and exiting administration for a period.  Here's where they could open (I didn't list Buffalo because they left that area):

Irondequoit - Medley Centre
Kingston - ex-JCPenney
Auburn - former Rex, Fingerlakes Mall
Syracuse - Destiny USA
Johnson City - Oakdale Mall
Massena - St Lawrence Centre
Watertown - Salmon Run Mall
Cortland - Riverside Plaza
Ithaca - former Tops or Shops at Ithaca Mall

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Maaco

Better call Maaco! St. Paul MN
Twin Cities location
Now for something new.  Maaco are known for panel beaters making cars look like brand new once again after a bust-up.  I heard of them from Downstate and the closest one to me is in Albany.  Here's where they could go:

Syracuse - NY 5/Erie Blvd E (former Arthur Treachers/Kwik Fill)
Liverpool - NY 31 (former Dunn Tyre)
Mattydale - US 11 (former Valvoline)
New Hartford - former Price Chopper or Circuit City
Cortland - NY 13 (Riverside Plaza)
Latham - NY 2 & 7 and US 9 (Latham Circle Mall)
Auburn - former P&C
Oswego - former Staples
Rome - former Staples
Liverpool - CR 57 (former Price Chopper)
Fulton - former Nestlé plant on NY 481
Pulaski - former Als Big Corner Market on NY 13
Junius Ponds - Waterloo Premium Outlets
Irondequoit - Medley Center
deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall on NY 5
Camillus - Township 5
Horseheads - former ALDI
Ithaca - former kmart, NY 13 & 96
Watertown - Arsenal St (NY 3)
Palatine Bridge - former Ames

Saturday, August 22, 2015

ALDI

Aldi
Henrietta, NY location just south of Rochester.
ALDI may seem too easy to expand compared to most other chains in the US or Europe, but there are still some areas that could use one.

Fulton - former Nestlé plant (being built now to hopefully open later in 2016)
Phoenix - CR. 57 (start from scratch)
Tully - US 11/NY 80 or NY 281 (near regional warehouse)
laFayette - US 20 (also original building)
North Adams, MA - former Price Chopper
Menands - former Save-a-Lot (TBD)
Boonville - former Great American, NY 12

They should also open in Canada but that's for another day.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Brueggers Bagels

Bruegger's Bagels
Flagship store in Burlington, VT.
There are still some spots that have yet to open a Brueggers Bagels:



Cicero - Former Tim Hortons on US 11 or McDonalds on Circle Drive near Marketplace (far enough from existing North Syracuse store)
Cortland - Downtown, Riverside Plaza at former Naples Italian Eatery on NY 13, or Cortlandville on NY 281
Oswego - Former Arbys, Ponderosa, Dollar Tree or other vacancy on NY 104
Ithaca - The Commons, ex-Tim Hortons, Lansing or NY 13/96*
Binghamton - Johnson City, Vestal or Downtown*
Canandaigua - former Ponderosa, NY 5/US 20
Corning - Downtown in former Crunge Records*
Elmira/Horseheads - Arnot Mall/TBD*
Baldwinsville - former Burger King (NY 31/370)
Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, Tim Hortons, Grant Ave (NY 5) or Genesee St
Geneva - NY 5/US 20 or NY 14 Downtown
Junius Ponds - Waterloo Premium Outlets
Utica - Genesee St between downtown and Deerfield
New Hartford - Sangertown Square, Commercial Drive (NY 5A) or Genesee St
Oneida - former Friendlys, NY 5
Clay - Great Northern Mall food court
Watertown - Salmon Run Mall or Arsenal Street, NY 3

UPDATE: Regional franchise Flour City Bagels have entered administration which likely puts the idea of any new locations on hold for the foreseeable future and would have to be approved by court.  The SU Hill location is now closed so other posts will suggest what could replace it.

*I go to these areas less often so if you know them let me know a place.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Golden Corral

Golden Corral
Henrietta location near Rochester.  Might have gone by this recently.
A lot of what I put down for 99 goes for this too.  The only one I ever went to was on NY 481 in Fulton in 2002 but it is now a day care and the one I have shown here is the closest now 85 miles away in Monroe County.  The former Cici's location in Cicero would make sense as they are a buffet chain too but with pizza and macaroni cheese from what I recall.  I don't even go to indie Chinese buffets anymore myself but I still want this in Syracuse too (more here).  One off NY 598 is back on the table however in Syracuse.

99 Restaurants

99 Restaurant
Location closer to the chains home office.
I've only gone in New Hartford and maybe Albany but this is long overdue for a post:

Syracuse (Destiny USA) - Former Cantina Loredo
East Syracuse/deWitt - Former Carmellas Café/Mixers Grill
Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, US 20 & NY 5; or former Dennys, NY 5
Cortland - former Bob Evans or Cortlandville
Syracuse/Geddes - former Herb Philipsons/kmart in Western Lights (split with someone else)
Fulton - former Jreck Subs
Oswego - former Ponderosa, NY 104
Cicero - former Buffalo Wild Wings or other vacancies on Circle Drive
Canandaigua - former Ponderosa, NY 5/US 20
deWitt - former Ruby Tuesdays/Stones, NY 5
Irondequoit (Rochester suburb) - Medley Center or former Keenans
Syracuse (Fairmount) - former Big Boy/IHOP/Good Buddys Pub, West Genesee St
Syracuse (east side) - NY 5; former Red Lobster (instead of deWitt)

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Price Chopper/Market 32

Price Chopper
Then-Windsor, VT store, a possible former Grand Union and at least one in Albany County wound up the same way.
Even Price Chopper could expand their footprint and they could go in one of these spots even though they would likely get the new name Market 32:

Saranac Lake - 622 Lake Flower Ave (NY 86)
Ithaca (former kmart or Maines)
laFayette
Tully
Horseheads (I seldom go to Twin Tiers anymore so do tell me where there's room)
Elmira - 299 S Main St
Irondequoit - Medley Ctr
Henrietta - Marketplace Mall or former Tops
Greece - former Maines
Geneva - former Tops (x 2), US 20/NY 5 (381 Hamilton St)

Wegmans in the Capital Region and Beyond

Wegmans
Henrietta, NY outside Rochester, Wegmans' hometown (I go to the Brighton one when I'm in Monroe County myself).
Wegmans have a reputation that reaches well outside their core market that stretches from New England to the Mid-Atlantic (rather Virginia closer to Washington, DC as the Alexandria store recently opened).  The NY Capital Region has been overlooked for a long time and it has been said that a gentlemans agreement between the family and the Golubs who run Price Chopper out of Schenectady County agreed to avoid each others backyards while competing in Massachusetts, CNY, Twin Tiers and half of Pennsylvania.  Hopes remain high for Albany area shoppers who don't want to go to my neck of the woods or towards Boston where another store will open in a couple years.  Even down the Hudson, a tri-state one is open in Brooklyn though people there can also take NJ Transit over to New Jersey (i.e. Mercer County) if they can manage that.  While I don't go to the Capital District quite as much as I have growing up anymore, where to build is more of a challenge as Wegmans stores now are streets ahead of other competitors like Hannaford, ShopRite and almost even Walmart as far as size is concerned so this will be more of a guess than when I usually do this kind of post so if you know the vicinity more than I do these days feel free to comment on where they could go.  All I did was leave a brief anonymous handwritten note urging that they open in Cuomo Country in the suggestion box over at my local store, something which people in Syracuse may take for granted being eight in Onondaga County alone (one going to Tops has come up here in the past, as it is rare in recent memory for a Wegmans to have to go as have Driving Park (now ShopRites sister chain PriceRite) in their native Monroe County or the original John Glenn store in Liverpool when a newer one opened next door several years ago).  The Mohawk Valley and even Cortland County could also be a part of this and while I go there a bit more trying to find the space in smaller towns is also a bit of a do as the usual vacancies I see wouldn't even suit a Lidl or Waitrose for that matter in the EU.  Wegmans are simply too leviathan in nature to just retrofit someone elses old building so they just start from scratch anyway (apart from a future downstate location where kmart used to be).  Just need enough land and there's the old adage of location, location, location (even though it's more clichéd with residential than commercial property, but since this is a business that's open to the public, of course, everyone has to be able to find it easily).  Zoning laws, traffic concerns and other red tape are a given too.  They're no run of the mill big box.  Here's where the Consumer Reports #1 supermarket pick could expand their footprint now:

Cortlandville - NY 13 (vacant lot south of NY 281 looks big enough to build)
Watertown - NY 3 or 12
New Hartford - NY 5A
Utica - NY 8 & 12
Herkimer - NY 5
Oneida - NY 5
Latham - US 9 & NY 2 & 7 (possibly where Latham Circle Mall had been)
East Greenbush - NY 43 or US 4
Glenmont - US 9W
Rotterdam - Via Port (if much of it including the former Macys is demolished), NY 337
Kingston - Dutchess County Mall (around the old JCPenney as this is in between Albany and NYC), US 9W
Rhinebeck - US 9
Fishkill - US 9 (hotbed for big box in Dutchess County)
Washington, DC (even though Alexandria, VA store just opened across the Potomac)
Schenectady - NY 5
Springfield - US 20? (a Berkshires store would make sense as they work their way east on I-90)
Worcester - TBD (I don't know the first thing about this except that it's in the middle of the capitals)

Saturday, August 8, 2015

avenue

Elyria, OH store (Cleveland suburb)
Now something for the ladies who have real-sized bodies.  Trying not to do just what I like here:

Syracuse - former Fallas (Shop City)
Westvale - former Hallmark
North Syracuse - former Fashion Bug (Northern Lights)
Clay - Great Northern Mall or former Verizon Wireless
Oswego - Mid-City Plaza or east side Dollar Tree or other vacancy on NY 104
Fulton - former Family Video
deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall
Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall
Junius Ponds - Waterloo Premium Outlets
Cortland - downtown, Riverside Plaza, or Cortlandville
Manlius - Madison Row
Fayetteville - Fayetteville Square or Town Center
Cicero - Circle Drive
Mattydale - former Daddy's Music
Watertown - Salmon Run Mall or Seaway Shopping Center
Baldwinsville - former Rite Aid
Various - former Dress Barn where existing stores aren't already in area including CNY

Coffee Beanery

CIMG0664
Location in Shanghai, mainland China.
Now for something different.  Coffee will never go out of fashion so here's where we should get it.
Only went to the former Renssalaer location at the railway station (which is something else now):

Cortland - former Deli Downtown or former Naples Italian Eatery, NY 13
Cicero - former Tim Hortons, US 11
Mattydale, Utica and Albany (Delaware area) - former Friendlys
Rochester - former Mighty Taco, NY 252
Fulton - former Jreck Subs
Oswego - downtown, Dollar Tree or other vacancy on NY 104, or former Arbys or Ponderosa
Baldwinsville - former Burger King, NY 31 & 370
Liverpool - former Arbys, CR 57\
Syracuse (SU Hill) - former Jimmy Johns, even with local and national competitors at close hand
Manlius - Madison Row
Chittenango - former Byrne Dairy, NY 5 & 13
Canandaigua - former Ponderosa, NY 5/US 20
Canastota - former Family Dollar, NY 5 & 13 and CR 25
Rome - Black River Blvd./NY 46 TBD
Utica - TBD
Auburn - former Walgreens
Cicero - former Buffalo Wild Wings, US 11
Albany - former D.P. Dough, Western Ave. or Mr Subb, NY 443 & US 9W (several miles from one mentioned above)

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Hannaford

Hannaford South Burlington, VT
South Burlington, VT store (only one I could find that was freely licenced and did not have cold weather or people in it).
Even Hannaford could use more stores despite owner Delhaize since merging with Benelux rival retailer Ahold (former owner of Tops and defunct mid-Atlantic chain BI-LO, which competed with Hannafords sister chain Food Lion once Hannaford left the mid-Atlantic and Delhaize bought one of the chains).  I've gone to Hannaford in the Capital Region (where they replaced former Grand Union and/or Supervalu/Shop 'n Save stores), North Country (not sure what was there before if not P&C), the Hudson (absorbing Shop 'n Save to avoid confusion with a WNY/PA chain) and (most of all) Mohawk Valleys (where they are in old Tops and/or P&C locations).

Fulton (former kmart on NY 481)
Syracuse (south side) (former Tops/P&C/A&P on US 11)
Westvale (former Tops/P&C on NY 5)
Ithaca (former Tops on NY 13, 34 & 96)
Fayetteville (former O'Brien & Gere on NY 5)  - confirmed pending legal issues
Mattydale (former kmart on US 11)
Oneida (former Price Chopper or Herb Phillipsons on NY 5 & 46)
Binghamton - (former Weis/Giant [as of 3/3/24] on NY 7)