Great American/Victory Markets

Margaretville Victory store, 1976. Courtesy John Margolies/Library of Congress.

 I remember Great American and Victory Markets from the old days. Wikipedia has no mention of when Leominster, MA-based Victory merged with Norwich-based Great American, which had stores from the Southern Tier, CNY, North Country, Adirondacks, Central Leatherstocking and Capital Regions, Mohawk and Hudson Valleys and close to the Catskills. Some had a distinct shape that can easily be recognised by those of a certain age group. Others still are open today or only just closed in recent memory while some are long gone. Hannaford and Big Y bought Victory locations in New England. Back in Upstate NY, at least one had been and another now is a Grand Union as well. More of them would be primarily in small towns. When they left, they would become rural food deserts (which can be worse than urban ones, being further away from anything comparable). Competition from P&C, Price Chopper and other chains meant Great Americans, like so many mom and pop operations (the latter day stores like Big M, Save a Lot, IGA and ShopRite are franchises [Victory acquired several ShopRite franchise stores in Albany and Warren Counties in late 1988, while ShopRite returned to the District in the 2010s with O&Os]), were becoming fewer by the day.  I will list as many as I can, but only put highways for areas that I know because it can take all day, even for smaller ones. There may be even more, but this is the gist of it. Many have been lost to obscurity (and I don't where they all are, yet our partners at Groceteria have a treasure trove, and I just can't catch up!).

Bridgeport (NY 31 & 298) - only one I ever went to as such; long since vacant

Fayetteville (NY 5) - also Victory; later Super Duper, now dance studio (still has distinct design)

Manlius (NY 173) - later Smiths, now Dollar Tree

Fort Plain (NY 80) - later Grand Union and Big M, now Save a Lot

Canajoharie (NY 5S) - now farm equipment business?

Sidney (BK5, recently closed)

Sidney (demolished, now Town Plaza)

Greene – Victory Market – South Chenango Street (became a Great American BK5; now closed)
Groton – Victory Market – 1980 Main Street (never a Great American)
Guilderland – Great American – 1235 Western Avenue (US 20) (formerly Shop Rite)
Hamilton – Victory Market – 11 Eaton Avenue (became a Great American)
Hartwick – Victory Market – Main & South Streets (became a Peter Pumpkin)
Hancock – Victory Market –East Front Street (became a Great American)
Hankins – Victory Market - (never a Great American)
Herkimer – Victory Market – 232 West Albany Street (NY 5) (became a Great American)
Herkimer - Great American - (NY 5S?) (formerly Loblaws)
Hinsman’s Corners – Victory Market – 1318 Upper front Street (never a Great American)
Homer – Victory Market – (never a Great American) (US 11)
Horseheads – Great American – Arnot Mall – 3300 Chambers Road (now Arnot Event Center)

Star Lake (NY 3)  - previously IGA; demolished; now Dollar General

Syracuse (Eastwood) (NY 290) - Victory Video; later James Flowers; now vacant

Norwich (flagship and 82 N Broad St [NY 12]) former now ALDI?; latter now Walgreens

Norwich (cold storage warehouse on E. Main St.; later Tops; now Grand Union)

Utica (then-NY 5/8/12 and Bleecker St)

Albany (near UAlbany)

Ellenville (US 209)

Lake George (US 9)

Mexico (NY 104)

Glens Falls (Upper Glen Rd) - previously ShopRite

Bainbridge (NY 7)

Unadilla (NY 7)

Margaretville (NY 30) - pictured; Victory, now the Catskill Mountain Christian Church School

Schoharie (NY 30)

Oneonta (NY 7 & 28)

New Berlin (NY 8 & 80)

Binghamton (Main St and S Washington St)

Prattsville (NY 23) - last surviving store with ties to the chain (not counting any unrelated stores outside Upstate NY due to generic nature of the name)

West Winfield (US 20 & NY 51) - now Dollar General

Oxford - now Dollar General

Watertown (NY 3) - now a mental health facility

Boonville (NY 12)

Cairo (NY 23) - now Hannaford

Adams Center (US 11)

Alexandria Bay (NY 12)

Apalachin (NY 17)

Camillus (W Genesee St) - Camillus Plaza; later Price Chopper and P&C; now Tops

Canastota (NY 13)

Barneveld (NY 365)

Camden (NY 13)

Catskill (NY 32)

Chadwicks (Main St [now Oneida St?])

New Paltz (NY 299)

Afton (NY 7)

Cooperstown (NY 28 & 80) - later P&C, now Grand Union

Delhi (NY 10)

Fonda (NY 30A)

Liberty (NY 52)

Lyons Falls (NY 12)

Sherburne (NY 12)

Richfield Springs (US 20)

Tully (US 11 & NY 80)

Ilion (NY 5S)

Whitesboro (NY 69) - previously Loblaws

East Greenbush (US 9 & 20)

Hudson (US 9)

Catskill (US 9W)

Colonie (Wolf Rd)

East Stroudsburg, PA (US 209) (only non-NY store)

Syracuse (south side) (US 11) Victory; previously Johnsons; now Dunk & Bright?

Westvale (NY 5) - Victory; previously Johnsons, later IGA

Jordan (9 Mechanic St) - later Big M and Tops; now Family Dollar

Syracuse (east side) (NY 5)

Syracuse (downtown)

Jamesville (NY 173)

van Buren/Seneca Knolls (NY 48) - now Big M flagship (may be confused with next one up the road)

Baldwinsville (NY 48) - later ValuWay

Baldwinsville (Downer St) - Tri-County Mall, long since demolished

Dryden (NY 13 & 38) - now Clarks ShurFine

Grand Gorge (NY 23 & 30)

Clinton (NY 12B)

deWitt (NY 5)

Chittenango (NY 5 & 13) - later Smiths, now Kinney Pharmacy

Syracuse (east side) - Victory; previously Acme

Syracuse (east side) (NY 5) - Victory only

Syracuse (east side) (NY 5) - Victory; previously Giant Food (not chains from Southern Tier/MD/PA) and Johnsons

Syracuse (north side) (NY 298) - Victory; previously Johnsons; later Big M; now Diamond (cornershop)

Syracuse (NY 92) - Victory; previously Red & White (brand still exists)

Syracuse (NY 92) - Victory; previously Market Basket (not New England chain)

Cazenovia (US 20) - first in region; later P&C, now Tops

Cincinnatus (NY 26) - later Peter Pumpkin

Cherry Valley (US 20) - previously Oneida Supermarkets (1968-?)

Clayville (NY 8)

Conklin (NY 7)

Cortland (NY 13) - Great American and Victory

Cortland (NY 41 & US 11?) - Victory only

Cortlandville (NY 281) - also both

Deposit - Elm & Monument Sts.

deRuyter (NY 13)

Eaton (NY 26)

Edmeston (NY 80)

Jeffersonville (NY 52)

Kingston (US 9W)

Whitney Point (US 11)

North Syracuse (US 11) - Victory; previously Market Basket

New Hartford (NY 5A) - Tehan Plaza; previously Loblaws, Chicago Markets and Tops; now Hannaford

Syracuse (north side) - later Wegmans, now Tops

Menands (NY 32) - previously ShopRite, later Price Chopper; now offices

Switz's: 30 Years On

Switz's sometime between 1987-92 (no free image, but has no copyright)

 Every year around this time, people in and/or from my area and generation remember Switz's, a variety store that was located in North Syracuse. It was originally founded in 1947 on Syracuses south side, and in 1954 across town, it was relocated to North Plaza up US 11 at Lawrence and S Bay Roads. Then in 1984, it moved to the building you see here that most CNYers reminisce about in the fall around the corner, a mock Tudor/Bavarian style building overlooking I-81 a mile from the airport. It was the place to go each Halloween for eight years' time. Tour buses would get off in Mattydale or E Taft Road depending on which direction they were heading. The owner purchased a .8 tonne, 5 yards tall ogre in then-West Germany named Oscar, who was more than a Grouch! There was a display of a graveyard and a band of skeletons. Switzs stocked the widest selection of costumes, makeup and accessories in the area. The last Saturday before the big day was like their Black Friday. The festive season also brought business to the store, but that gets overshadowed. By the early '90s, it was a textbook case of David and Goliath where Switzs became a statistic of another mom and pop that couldn't compete with the chains and malls. In this case, Walmart finally arrived in the Northeast (like we never missed), Shoppingtown had a store, and Carousel Center (now Destiny USA) opened in 1990 (can't recall if they had anything fancy dress in early days). The final nail in the vampires coffin lid was when the store moved to Penn Can Mall in Cicero a few miles away, but closed by summer 1993.  Meanwhile, Oscars whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.  Cablexpress (later CSX) moved into the S Bay Rd store, and have only used some of the property, and the inside is said to resemble little of what my age group know from childhood.  Younger people who work there or those who aren't from Onondaga County may or will not know firsthand the legacy of this small business.  Now CSX will move downtown to the former Sibleys/RKO Keiths (cinema from studio system/Old Hollywood era that closed during the postwar period). I'm sure one would like to bring Switzs back (had less trouble with something else that used to be around here, but that's different). You could even restore the Renaissance inspired façade or build a replica of Oscar and the "Touch of Grey" wannabes (one for you Deadheads!). It would be like rebuilding these local historic figures' homes on the city's east side from Victorian times that were demolished that could have been in the National Trust if the blueprints survive. It can never be the same.  On top of that, Switzs might not make it in todays environment, despite the grassroots movement to support local so this doesn't happen to another neighborhood business because of amazon and other online sales, pop-ups and boring big box. I have trouble finding anything at the name places, and small ones can have something unique, which Switzs did. I was young when it was around, so my own take can be vague and even secondhand, but I know my family have gone there once or twice a year in those days, and perhaps yours as well.

UPDATE: Crouse Health have acquired the building from current owner Bill Pomeroy, who donated the property to the hospital group in memory of his wife Sandra, who was his carer when he was taken ill. Crouse will convert it into a new multi-faceted health facility primarily targeting that part of Onondaga County. It will even have an event center that could host a few things I could come up with (story for another day). Maybe this is better anyway, as this is far more important, and it'd be impossible to recapture all of the magic of a long gone time and make it work in todays economy.

Christmas Tree Shops

Macomb County location in Michigan

 Christmas Tree Shops were a unique kind of discount chain, but not a festive one per se. Like several others, I heard of it in the Capital Region. I found some of my CDs there. People from CNY would take road trips there. Then, they finally came here in a plaza that now has little to go on (that will get its own post another day).  Harmon Face Values spun off with their generic health and beauty products, and had a location in Dutchess County. Christmas Tree Shops were once owned by Bed, Bath and Beyond, but now both have gone bankrupt and have closed their doors because people shop online and the economy is touch and go; same old story. If that wasn't the case, this would be just another run-of-the-mill list of where to open more, since they could have gone to Cayuga, Tompkins and Oneida Counties, but it's now too late for that. Instead, other chains can get past CTS locations, but I can only come up with ideas for the ones that I know, of course. Oh, Christmas Tree Shops, how lovely were thy branches!

Albany (Colonie) - Colonie Center, NY 5 & Wolf Road

North Syracuse - Northern Lights, US 11, former Builders Square

Henrietta - NY 252 (Rochester)

Watertown - Salmon Run Mall, NY 3

Market 32

Ft Edward location on US 4 in Warren County from Cumberland Farms across the road

Tyler A. McNeil, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 Price Chopper have gradually converted their stores to Market 32, which is approaching its tenth year. Someone asked Newschannel 9s Your Stories when they'll all be done. Initially, it was most of their locations in their native Capital Region, working their way towards New England, Pennsylvania, and the Mohawk Valley. It may be too easy to rebrand the lot straightaway, or a right fortune, instead doing them up piecemeal over the course of a decades time. Latham instead have Market Bistro, which I've mentioned earlier, trying to emulate Wegmans (don't get me started!). Inside, the key differences include some of the décor and the carts are brown. 32 refers to 1932, when the chain were founded as Central Markets. They've been Price Chopper for fifty years, yet there's no anniversary just for that; last year being considered the milestone, while new sister chain Tops had their own.

The only current Market 32 I've gone to myself to date is New Hartford (none west of Oneida County just yet), although in their backyard, I've been to Slingerlands, Pine Hills and Delaware Ave. (NY 443 & US 9W) long before the name was coined, the last two in Albany proper. Other than that, it's pretty much the same and will distinguish it from the Price Chopper in Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. Our Price Chopper have been in CNY since the mid-'70s (Groceteria has more details). The name won't be retired fully, just reconfigured. Now if that could open on Syracuses south side since it's far enough from Western Lights and Erie Blvd E since it can be done as you head east. It might not work in Ithaca with Tops across town and Price Chopper never at that end of NY 13, and rural communities might be a challenge if the property is small and there isn't room to expand as well as concerns about traffic and codes. Still, Market 32 is more than a fresh coat of paint and a name change.

On 28 November, Price Chopper/Market 32 announced the acquisition of the five area ShopRite stores that closed ten days earlier, but only Niskayuna and North Greenbush will join the chain in the new year, while the rest overlap with existing locations, so we'll see how they get on.

Lou Malnati's

Gold Coast, Chicago location (can't recall which one I visited since it's a big area)

 Here's a new one. The same relative who posted about Spaghetti Factory a few years back on Facebook now discovered something else Italian, but one that I have tried myself in the past, yet expanded since I went in their backyard on holiday in 2008. It's Lou Malnatis Pizzeria in the Chicago area. He and his dad used to manage Pizzeria Uno, which used to be in CNY themselves until recently, and we just got East of Chicago in Lyncourt. The younger Malnati broke out on his own in 1971, and has become a big name in the Windy City ever since. I remember the bits of tomato, but at least I can say I've gone. I was surprised to learn they were also in Arizona, as well as Milwaukee and (takeaway only) Marion Counties stretching further into the Midwest. While some may call it selling out by going out of state and even abroad, Malnatis next frontier could be the Northeast as you head east along the Great Lakes/I-90/I-80 corridor.  They could possibly open in the Tri-State, even though New York City is proud of their own pizza (just ask Messrs Fieri and Portnoy!). I may just zero in on Upstate (CNY for a start since that's what I know best, of course), while other states on the east coast would follow. Even the West Coast doesn't have it yet, with Maricopa County being the closest to there, so you'd have to go from LAX to Sky Harbour if you don't want to have it come in the post with special packaging I suppose.  Nothing beats having it there. Malnati would've wanted you to come in and enjoy his family's classic recipe, so may his spirit guide us there. Nothing like a Deep Dish.

Syracuse - Destiny USA, former Cantina Loredo

Albany - Wolf Road; former Bed, Bath and Beyond/ShopRite

New Hartford - Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5 & US 20

Greece - The Mall at Greece Ridge, former TGI Fridays, NY 104

Amherst - former Best Buy, NY 78

Cortland - former flea market, Riverside Mall, NY 13 (too big for small space near road)

Watertown - former Christmas Tree Shops, Salmon Run Mall, NY 3

Syracuse (Fairmount) - former Big Boy/IHOP/Good Buddys Pub, West Genesee St

Ithaca - former Hobby Lobby, NY 13, 34 & 96

Tex's Chicken and Burgers

Colonie location on NY 5 near Albany

 I was looking for a place to get dinner for my annual trip to Albany that was a chain not yet in CNY that could be (and there have been so many over the years), and discovered Tex's Chicken & Burgers (formerly Texas Chicken & Burgers), which is actually from downstate of all places (reminds of the Pace Picante advert!). Didn't eat there, but I got a look at it and it doesn't require too much space, which makes it a bit easier to find locations. Now to get them mosey on down here to these parts!

North Syracuse - US 11 & S Bay Rd, Northern Lights Plaza, former Hofmann Hot Haus/Salt City Dogs

Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA, former Arbys

deWitt - NY 5, Marshalls Homegoods Plaza

Auburn - NY 5 & US 20, Fingerlakes Mall

Cortland - NY 13, Riverside Mall, former Naples Pizza

Ithaca - former Starbucks

Utica - former Popeyes

Rochester - NY 252, former Boston Market

Oneida - NY 5, former KFC

Clay - NY 31, former Subway

Jimmy Johns: 40 Years On

Broward County location

 Jimmy Johns celebrate their fortieth anniversary this year. They were just sold to the owners of their biggest competitor Subway. Both have closed locations and are all but franchised, they couldn't be more different. While it's too easy to go to Subway (which now even outnumber McDonalds), Jimmy Johns are fewer by the day. All four Syracuse locations are closed, while two in the region fifty miles away each in a small town are alive and well, but it's likely the classic case of the franchise owner and corporate falling out, or maybe slow sales. I go to the Utica one when I'm that way and have time, while I found the Ithaca store at short notice, which saved time in an area I don't know as well. Back near home, someone else could take over the local rights and have another go since no one else touched most of them since then, even though I suggested other chains in previous posts like I always do. They can also open in other vacancies around the area like anyone else. It may be too soon to come back.

Syracuse (SU Hill) - Marshall St (was various businesses over the decades)*

Syracuse (downtown) - W Fayette St (was Luna indie restaurant for a period)*

Cicero - E Circle Dr*

E Syracuse - NY 298 & Weighlock Dr (previously Starbucks)*

Syracuse (north side) - Destiny USA, former Arbys

Cortland - Main St, former Deli Downtown

Auburn - NY 5 & US 20, Fingerlakes Mall

Watertown - NY 3, Salmon Run Mall

Oswego - NY 104 & 3rd Ave, former Subway (near SUNY)

Chittenango - NY 5 & 13, former Byrne Dairy

Oneida - NY 5, former KFC?

Clay - NY 31, former Subway

*former location

The Fresh Market

Augusta, GA location

 The Fresh Market are based in Greensboro, NC, yet have locations across the eastern seaboard and once were in the California Capital Region, and are in the NY one in Latham (I thought it was a few miles away in Colonie, but it was their competitor). Just when you think there couldn't be another one of these coming, they may open near you (they could even be considered a premium grocer like the "other place" [which I say so not to let the side down]).

New Hartford - Sangertown Square, NY 5 & 5A, former Macys (while the New Hartford Shopping Center around the corner still has the former Herb Phillipsons available, Commercial Drive is far more suited for this type of chain in this area)

deWitt - Marshalls Homegoods Plaza, NY 5, former Bed, Bath & Beyond

North Syracuse - Northern Lights Plaza, US 11, former Builders Square/Christmas Tree Shops

Kingston - Hudson Valley Mall, US 9W; former Macys, Sears, or JCPenney (I haven't been to Ulster County since 2000, so I had to use Google Maps and Wikipedia to see what's there now)

Wappingers Falls - US 9, former Bed, Bath & Beyond

Amherst - NY 78, former Best Buy

Henrietta - NY 252, Market Square Plaza; former Bed, Bath & Beyond

Victor - NY 96; former Bed, Bath & Beyond (seems to be a cookie cutter vacancy that can get its own post later because of their bankruptcy and closure or brick and mortar)

Ithaca - NY 13, 34 & 96, former Tops