Sears Oil Co.

Sears Oil service station in Rome in 1983

 I remember there being what was a regional chain of gas and service stations called Sears Oil Co. from Rome (unrelated to Sears department stores and their own auto shops).  They were gone by the late '90s.  I needed more than a handful before I could do this one (I just know Onondaga County more).

Rome - N James St

Rome - Bruce St

Rome - NY 46 (HQ/refinery)

Utica - NY 5S

Herkimer - NY 5

New Hartford - then-NY 5/8/12 (pre-arterial)

Oneida - NY 46 & 365A

Rome (downtown) - W Liberty & N George Sts; a replica museum remains

Syracuse (Eastwood/E Syracuse) - NY 290 & 635; now Wendys

Syracuse (downtown) - NY 5 & US 11; later Hess and Speedway, now Mobil

Fayetteville (village) - NY 5; same as downtown Syracuse (not to be confused with corner of N Burdick St Speedway or Lyndon Corners Mobil at NY 92 [one-time Express Marts])

Fairmount - W Genesee St; now Delta Sonic

Loblaws in CNY

 

Composite of Eastwood store made from Peters IGA

As the last article pointed out, people of a certain age in and from this area may not realise something is still there or not, whether or not they moved house, travel, or stay in the know.  Loblaws looms large.  While it's still a large chain in Canada to this day, it had competition on this side of the seaway until it left US soil by 1977.  There was a low-res scan on Facebook of an advert from the paper, but one can't make out the locations, yet Groceteria has the immediate Syracuse area, as well as other major cities in the US that had Loblaws (including border cities Buffalo and Detroit).  I've only been to No Frills, Wholesale Club and Shoppers Drug Mart on the boys' turf, so one of these days, I'll have to get to a Loblaws proper.  All of this was before my time, which is why it's pensioners who know it domestically and deem it defunct if they haven't gotten the memo (even ex-pat Paul Anka would know it's alive and well today).  Here's a list of CNY locations (can't do this for all of them):

US 11 & Bear Rd (North Syracuse)

NY 173 (South Side, later Price Chopper)

NY 5 (x and Fayetteville)

NY 290 (East Syracuse and Eastwood, now Family Dollar)

Genesee St (Auburn)

South Ave (South Side, now Price Rite)

Bleecker St (Utica, also now Price Rite)

Western Lights (later old Price Chopper?)

NY 48 (van Buren, later IGA, now flagship Seneca Knolls Big M)

NY 46 & 365A? (Oneida)

NY 104 (Oswego)

W Genesee St (Fairmount)

Transit St (Lockport)

Butternut & Park Sts (north side)

US 11 (Mattydale and Pitcher Hill)

N Main St (Cortland)

NY 290 & Grant Blvd - Now Walgreens/former P&C-A&P-Rite Aid-True Value (Eastwood)

Westcott St (East Side)

615 E Adams St (East Side, demolished for I-81)

Formerly in CNY, who's still around?

ACME alive and well in Fairfield County

 There are a number of chains and indies alike that resonate with the over-60s in and/or from CNY (primarily those who grew up in Onondaga County).  While not everyone knows half of what I do, sometimes a name can bring you right back to a simpler time.  It's easy to assume that many of them outright belong to the ages now and have for decades, but that's not always the case.  It's common for people from older or pretty much all generations to move away from their hometown (human migration has occurred since before antiquity), and we all don't catch up or travel that far.  Here's a rundown of what I can gather:

Loblaws - left area if not US by mid-'70s, now part of conglomerate in Canada

Acme - left here by then as well; still in Tri-State (pictured), NJ, PA, Delmarva, OH

Optivision - formerly in Western Lights; still in Cortland and Ithaca

A&P - left after the '60s; gone by 2011

IGA - see earlier article

Grand Union - several articles on blog

Foodland - briefly in CNY; still in South and Pittsburgh area

P&C - see earlier articles; now in Cortland and Ithaca

Rexall - now sold at Dollar General in US and are still a chain in Canada

JCPenney - some stores remain around the country

Volunteers of America - once in Auburn

St Vincent de Paul - once on Syracuses North Side and Cicero

Pathmark  - briefly in deWitt; remained in Tri-State, sold to A&P and closed in 2011

Texaco - left by '70s

BP - left by mid-'90s

Arco - left by late-'80s

Amoco - left by late-'80s

Church's Chicken - left by '80s

Getty - left by 2000s after Lukoil merger; still active in Capital Region, Hudson Valley and Tri-State

Carrolls - converted to Burger King franchisee by '70s; chain name spun off in Finland by Hesburger; US franchise sold to corporate in 2024

Wegmans in Natick Mall

Wegmans in Natick Mall

 Wegmans have a presence in the Boston area, despite the huge gap on the I-90 corridor until you get all the way west to my backyard (the deWitt/Fayetteville store is pretty much the main one in CNY) and down I-95 before reaching the Tri-State (we've discussed that other state capital already).  In the suburb Natick, Wegmans have been at Natick Mall in the old JCPenney of all places.  It's rare this day and age for Wegmans to close a store, but this one hasn't made much money surprisingly after just five years, and COVID may have exacerbated that like it has so much the past few years.  Having them in a mall like this just didn't catch on, and they're not as used to Wegmans as we are.  Other stores will stay put.  It's just what to do with it now.  Just another department store is a step backwards at this stage.

Price Chopper/Market 32 have a few stores by those shores, and the closest one is far enough that this could become another Market Bistro, which is their Latham store north of Albany, made to be "Wegman-esque", if you like, and the only one in the chain not to use either of the usual names.  Hannaford could also take over since they wouldn't overlap like sister chain Stop & Shop, which is already around the corner.  Shaws are a few miles away in Ashland, and owners Albertsons are in the middle of a merger with Kroger (sister chain Star Market have a location by the Pru in the city that I went to).  Market Basket also have a location in Ashland, so Natick would be too close.  A two-level Walmart like in Albany is out since a regular one is a couple miles away in Framingham, and that's too easy anyhow.  So Y not Big Y?  Wouldn't conflict with existing stores in what's a big area anyway. Gone by one in Hartford County in 1994.  Even enough room for another Costco (almost went in Dedham on my first Boston trip in 2010).  Whole Foods were at that mall once already themselves.

Wegmans are a hard act to follow.  It's one thing to replace an older, smaller store with a competitor that is more adaptable to an urban community.  It's another for a unique anchor store like this, but maybe they could promote it better, and most of these chains have a longer track record in the region, despite Wegmans' high standards.  Back in Upstate NY, I can't imagine Wegmans opening in Destiny USA (they'll stick to department stores) or even the former Lord & Taylor in Eastview Mall in Victor outside their home base of Rochester (even though one isn't right in that part of Ontario County, so you'd have to go to Fairport, and the mall has their own fish to fry, which is a story for another day).  Whole Foods have a store in Colonie Center near Albany which works, but is not overbearing.  If Wegmans couldn't find anywhere to start from scratch in the Capital Region, empty anchors in Crossgates or other malls would be a last resort.  Even a small town wouldn't condense everything that way.  Maybe the concept was just too much as one wouldn't do both things in a single trip usually.