Fay's Drugs: 65 Years On

Composite of Eastwood (1991-97) store (no real photo)

 Fay's Drugs were a chain based right in CNY.  They never even had a 40th Anniversary.  It started in Fairmount in 1958 and grew from there.  They bought the founders relatives' rival chain Carls Drugs in 1991.  In 1996 JCPenneys Thrift Drug bought Eckerd, then Fays, and as mergers and acquisitions can take up to a year or so to materialise, Fays were no more by the fall of 1997.  Here's a list of stores mainly in their home territory and what they are now (it will never be a complete list 'cos it's too much).

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290; originally Loblaws, Peters IGA and Foodland, then Carls, was Fays from 1991-97, Eckerd from 1997-2010, Rite Aid from 2010-19, vacant from 2019-22 and is now Family Dollar (pictured)

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Shop City; Eckerd moved to part of former Ames after ceiling collapse, old store now Valu Home Center

Cazenovia - US 20; now Walgreens

Syracuse (north side) - Lodi & Butternut Sts; now Dollar Tree

Syracuse (east side) - Nottingham Rd & E Colvin St, Skytop Plaza; originally Drumlins Pharmacy; now Walgreens

Hannibal - NY 3; now Walgreens

deWitt - NY 5, Shoppingtown; now closed and set for demolition pending court approval for District East, may have been CVS/pharmacy prior to '80s (did have Walgreens and Carls before that)

Fayetteville (Wegmans Plaza) - NY 5 & 92 - demolished in 1994 for current Wegmans

Fayetteville (Mall) - NY 5; previously Carls; demolished by late '90s for Towne Center

Fayetteville - N Burdick St; now Walgreens

East Syracuse - originally Church Leader Drug; now Walgreens

Syracuse (south side) - NY 175 & 80; now Dollar Tree

Syracuse (west side) - S Geddes St; later Save-a-Lot, now Wilson Dental

Poughkeepsie - US 9, Poughkeepsie Plaza; TBD (was on the way out when I moved in up the road)

Fairmount - former flagship/original store; now Dollar Tree

Camillus - Camillus Plaza; now Rite Aid

Gloversville - N Main St; now Dollar General

Elmira - TBD

Cohoes - NY 470?, TBD

Albany (Delaware Area) - NY 443 & US 9W; later Save-a-Lot, now vacant

Albany (Uptown) - NY 5, Westgate Shopping Centre; now Rite Aid

Utica - Genesee St; later Rite Aid, now vacant

Pittsford - NY 31; later Walgreens, now vacant

Cortland - NY 13, Riverside Mall; now vacant

Waterloo - US 20 & NY 5; now AutoZone?

Cortland - NY 222; later Dollar Foods, now vacant

North Syracuse - Pyramid Mall, E Taft Rd; TBD/DMV?

Baldwinsville - Tri-County Mall; replaced by original Eckerd in 1997, now Rite Aid

Auburn - Seminary St, TBD

Greece - NY 18, Parkway Commons Plaza; now Bingo World?

Painted Post - NY 17C

Horseheads - NY 14

Athens, PA

Amsterdam - NY 5 & 67

Ilion - NY 5

Greenville, SC (even opened that far south)

Sayre - TBD

Nedrow - US 11, Green Hills Plaza; now Planet Fitness

Saugerties/Vails Gate - NY 32 & 94, Simmons Plaza; later Eckerd and Rite Aid, now Walgreens 

North Syracuse - US 11 & W Taft Rd, Sweetheart Corners; previously CVS, now Rite Aid

New Paltz - NY 299; now Walgreens

Middletown - NY 211; TBD (closed when Eckerd opened in Scotchtown)

Middletown - NY 17M; now Market Fresh

Wilkes-Barre - S Main St; later Eckerd, now closed

Luzerne - TBD

Gates - Westgate Plaza

Scranton - Luzerne St; later Eckerd, now Rite Aid

Clarks Summit - TBD

Ithaca - NY 13, 34 & 96

Cobleskill - Main St; TBD

Edwardsville - TBD

Fairport - NY 31F

Mattydale - US 11; later Dollar Tree, now vacant

Cicero - US 11, Marketplace Mall; demolished by 2000s (now various businesses)

Baldwinsville (Moyers Corners) - NY 31 & CR 57, Kimbrook Plaza; later Rite Aid, now Planet Fitness

Baldwinsville (village) - NY 31 & 370; now Dollar Tree (new store built; confirmed by chain as former Eckerd)

Manlius - NY 173, TBD

Canastota - NY 5 & 13; now Dollar General

Oneida - NY 5 (not sure, but it is a small town)

Syracuse (Westvale) - NY 5; now Family Dollar

Syracuse (Onondaga Blvd) - now Goodwill

Oswego - NY 104; now demolished

Fulton - NY 481; now Taco Bell (old store demolished and restaurant built on site, of course)

Watertown - NY 3, Stateway Plaza (also had a liquor store); now vacant

Liverpool (Galeville) - Old Liverpool Rd & Electronics Pkwy; later Thrifty Shopper, now vacant (likely more of a flagship in later years as headquarters were up the road on Henry Clay Blvd, which is now the regional office for Rite Aid)

Liverpool (Bayberry) - CR 57; Seneca Mall; later Eckerd, now vacant

North Syracuse (Sugarwood Corners) - Buckley & Bear Rds, Sugarwood Center; now various businesses

Revco Drugs

Old school Revco in Civil War town of Lynchburg, VA in 1986

 Long gone Midwestern drugstore chain Revco were only in Upstate New York for a brief time in the early to mid-'90s until their sale to CVS/pharmacy in 1997 after four decades in business.  They initially reached CNY when acquired New York State Brooks locations from Canadian chain Pharmacie Jean Coutu, which later bought Eckerd from JCPenney, until PJC sold it to Rite Aid in 2010, and many of those stores are now Walgreens (including some former Carls, Fays and indies, but more on those later).  Here's a selection of stores in CNY, the Capital Region, South (one I just heard of when writing this) and Hudson Valley recalled from memory.

Hyde Park - US 9; now CVS/pharmacy (older one down the road closed)

Delmar - NY 443, Delaware Plaza; now Dollar Tree (CVS/pharmacy are already up the street)

North Syracuse - US 11; later CVS/pharmacy, now Harbor Freight Tools

Skaneateles - Fennel St.; previously Brooks, now CVS/pharmacy (last converted one in CNY)

Lynchburg, VA - Main St.; now The Market at Main Restaurant (only non-NY I'm doing; pictured)

Syracuse - NY 92; originally non-pharmacy CVS, now Dollar General

Liverpool - CR 57 & Wetzel Rd.; now Bryant & Stratton (previously local business)

Wilson Farms

Collegetown location in Tompkins County

 Wilson Farms was a chain of convenience stores located across CNY, WNY, Twin Tiers, and the North Country (later as Sugarcreek after buying those out).  Tops had started them in 1969 (they previously had B-Kwik, which were simply smaller stores).  When Tops left Onondaga County in 1986 (brought back in 2010 after buying most of P&C and Quality in WNY from Penn Traffic), Wilson Farms was the only way to get Tops brand products in Syracuse, and under Ahold ownership, sister brands Finast and Giant.  Tops Xpress began in 2001, and Wilson Farms were spun off, eventually sold to 7-Eleven.  Sadly, very few are still 7-Eleven in CNY.  Some are indie cornershops and others vacant or even demolished.  Price Chopper once had Mini Chopper in the Pine Hills section of Albany, but now pair up with select Sunocos (many are now 7-Elevens themselves).  Here's what I can dig up (I won't find them all because it's too painstaking, but you get the gist).

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290 & Forest Hill Dr; now Foods 4 Less

Syracuse (north side) - US 11 (N. Salina St.); now NSC, once had gas station

Syracuse (north side) - US 11 (Wolf St.), previously Big M, now Dollar Tree

Syracuse (north side) - Grant Blvd; now indie

Syracuse (south side) - NY 175 & 80; now Ocean 11

North Syracuse - US 11 (only non-petrol 7-Eleven left in town)

Cortland - US 11 & NY 41 (only other gas-free location in region)

Auburn - NY 38, now Lucky 7 (may have closed as 7-Eleven due to merger with Speedway, which is down the street)

Fulton - NY 3; now vacant

Liverpool - CR 57; now demolished

Ithaca - Collegetown (pictured); TBD

Almond - NY 21; now 7-Eleven

Pavilion - NY 19; now closed

Dansville - NY 36; now 7-Eleven

Watertown - NY 12F; now closed

Elmira - 709 W Gray St.; now 7-Eleven

Niagara Falls - NY 384; now 7-Eleven (just one example in WNY)

Rochester - NY 31; now 7-Eleven

PostNet

My local franchise around the corner

 PostNet are a chain of shipping centres started over thirty years ago in Clark County now based in the Colorado Capital Region.  They've been in my area for over a decade or so, just blocks from my house, and I've used them to ship packages and make copies.  They used to have a second location across town in Fairmount, but it closed some time ago.  Rivals The UPS Store and others shuttered even more stores in CNY.  Eastwood is now the only one in the whole state.  Finding smaller storefronts can be a challenge, even in small towns, but they could take over some spots around the region.

Cortland - Main St., downtown, former office supply or pawn shop

Ithaca - The Commons, downtown (over a dozen vacancies are available to choose from)

Syracuse - S Salina & E Washington Sts, downtown; former Copy Center

New Hartford - NY 5A; former shipping store in former Avenue Plaza

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, US 20 & NY 5

Oswego - NY 104 or W 1st St; vacant store front

Fulton - E. 1st. St, downtown; former Wayne Pharmacy

Canastota - NY 5 & CR 25; former Family Dollar

Chittenango - NY 5 & 13; former Byrne Dairy

Central Square - 668 US 11; former Allstate/Disc-Connection

Rome - NY 46 & 49; Freedom Plaza

Hegedorn's Market: 70 Years On

Courtesy Webster on the Web (they also use Creative Commons)

 Indie grocery store Hegedorns on NY 404 (Ridge Road) in the Rochester suburb Webster will close in June due to increasing competition from Wegmans (based across town), ALDI, Tops, and Walmart (go figure). It was the prèmiere mom and pop supermarket in the region and sadly one of the last. I've never been myself, but I've known about it for a long time, and it's not unlike so many around the country, even though this is more in a bigger area as opposed to a small town, yet the loss is a blow to the community either way.  Classic case, you know.  Like its counterparts in CNY, WNY and beyond, they had things the big box didn't.  Some shoppers drove over from nearby Wayne County, which is more rural and may have a chain here and small place there like anywhere in the industrialised world.

Hegedorns started as a franchise of IGA (originally as a dairy back in the Great Depression), but in later decades, carried ShurFine and Western Family, then Best Yet in more recent memory, like many other  independents.  Several others, including a couple Big Ms, will still have Best Yet in Monroe, Wayne, Genesee and Ontario Counties.  As for the store, it can't just sit empty.  I have a gut feeling it could become a Tops (all the closest ones are almost eight miles away, and they may be ready to expand again after last years merger with Price Chopper/Market 32).  That seems like selling out, but it might work, since they bought similar properties down the NY 104/Lake Ontario corridor in the past decade.  In my usual lists, I also put in Lidl, Grocery Outlet and maybe one other, but those may not be appropriate for that type of place.  Maybe Hegedorns could relocate to the city proper ten miles away, where they could use a store, since there was an article in local alt-monthly City Newspaper a couple years back about the inner city being a "food swamp" to vulnerable populations (same here in Syracuse and countless cities coast-to-coast for those of us who can't just drive somewhere else when the bus isn't as convenient, but more on that another day).  The owners still have local fast food chain Bill Grays/Tom Wahls and additional businesses to fall back on (Grays were once in CNY).  Still, loyal shoppers are gutted to see Hegedorns become another textbook statistic of a changing economy and society.  It just tells us to keep supporting local business that are still around or they won't be anymore.  Long live Hegedorns.

UPDATE: The owners decided to delve up the property into thirds according to CBS 8, NBC 10, ABC 13, PBS 21, Fox 31 and the local paper. At least it won't lay to waste like so many others. Still, Webster is a community in its own right, not just a place outside Rochester.

Ziebart

A VitroPlus/Ziebart in the Montréal, Québec, Canada area.

 A member of my family works at Ziebart, a chain or auto repair shops in the northeast and mid-West of the US and Canada (my inner Professor told me they were across the Seaway as well, but now through Uniglass Plus), and travels for work for it, and it gave me an idea for todays post, especially as I found some parts of Upstate NY don't have one yet.  This will be a challenge not knowing where there'd be this kind of vacancy, even in small towns, albeit ones I don't get to often enough.  This is based in the Detroit/Windsor area, the bedrock of the motor trade in this country, so they are just up the road from Big Auto, basically.  There's one across from me already, so that's sorted, but I know there are gaps across the region.  Perhaps other chains or indies left spots (I had less trouble with Maaco, who Ziebart compete with in Albany and numerous other areas).  I found some downstate vacancies through an estate agent, but it's painstaking to scramble with ones 200 miles away when you haven't been half as far in donkeys years!  I like to make my own list with places I know.  Of course, one can always build from scratch, but it's trying to find the parcel to start a building site with the right zoning and location, location, location! (I learned a lot about properties over the years)  Just takes determination and perseverance, like anything in life, like when you take your car in and they try and get it fixed for you.

Cortland (Cortlandville) - NY 281, former NAPA

Auburn - E Genesee St, former Goodyear

Oswego - NY 48, former Shapiro/Burritt Motors Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram

Ithaca - NY 13/34/96?, TBD (even here, there's nothing to buy or let on every corner)