Freddy's Rx

Another AI pipe dream with the wrong Freddy's logo

 Freddy's Rx were a discount pharmacy chain from Monroe County in the '80s and early '90s. They had just one location that I remember in my area. Freddy's went as far south as Florida and Virginia, so snowbirds in the former from the Flour City had a piece of home for prescriptions in those days, I suppose. Freddys were all gone by 1994, even though I go to that other chain from Rochester.

Greece - NY 104

Henrietta - NY 252 & 15, Southtown Plaza; later PriceRite (closing November 2025)

Irondequoit - NY 104

Amherst - NY 324, Sheridan Centre Plaza; later Vix Drugs (Tops spinoff); now Dollar General?

North Syracuse - US 11 & S Bay Rd, Northern Lights Plaza; previously Rite Aid?; later Party City

Miami/Ft Lauderdale area - various/TBD

Virginia - various/TBD

Freddy's somewhere in Monroe County.

Notsky shops at Freddy's. Go Bulls!

Waldenbooks

Waldenbooks closing sale at Carolina Mall in Concord, NC; 2011

 Since we've covered past and present bookstore chains, here's one we haven't already. Waldenbooks had been a staple in downtowns and malls alike. The changing economy did them in too. We'll mainly focus on Upstate NY, but throw in other states. I'll mostly do ones I know.

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St

Syracuse (north side) - Carousel Center (now Destiny USA)

deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall, NY 5

Clay - Great Northern Mall, NY 31 & 481

Cicero - Penn Can Mall (now Drivers Village), E Circle Dr & S Bay Rd

Camillus - Camillus Mall

Fairmount - Fairmount Fair?

Utica - Riverside Mall; NY 8, 12 & 49

New Hartford - NY 5 & 5A

Auburn - NY 5 & US 20

Concord, NC - Carolina Mall (pictured)

Guilderland - Crossgates Mall, US 20

Colonie - Colonie Center, NY 5

Rotterdam - Rotterdam Square Mall (now Via Port), NY 337

Hanover, PA - Hanover Mall

Brownsville, TX - Sunrise Mall

San Francisco, CA - West Portal (one of several in the Bay Area)

Poughkeepsie - Poughkeepsie Galleria, US 9

Kingston - Hudson Valley Mall, US 9W

Henrietta - Marketplace Mall, NY 252

Greece - Greece Ridge Mall, NY 104

Irondequoit - Irondequoit Mall (later Medley Center; now Skyview on the Ridge), NY 104

Victor - Eastview Mall, NY 96

Ithaca - The Shops at Ithaca Mall, NY 13 & 34

Watertown - Salmon Run Mall, NY 3

Oneonta - Southside Mall, NY 7 & 28, later Borders Express

Cheektowaga - Walden Galleria (no relation)

Williamsville - Eastern Hills Mall, NY 78

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble in Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah, GA

 Barnes & Noble seems like another one that's all over the country, but there are a few spots they could fill. They just opened a new store at Destiny USA, which I didn't expect, even though it's much smaller than the other two in town and other malls. Old rivals Borders were there when it was Carousel Center (people mix the two chains up to this day, and we'll do Waldenbooks another time). In Albany County, Barnes & Noble moved from their old store on Wolf Road in Colonie to the mall across the street, and the original spot is still vacant even now when that has potential, but anyway. They're one of the few left despite stiff competition from amazon (who aren't just books now, of course).

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall, NY 5, US 20 and Clark St Rd; former JCPenney

Cortland - Riverside Mall, NY 13, former flea market or Cortlandville Crossing, NY 281; former kmart

Watertown - Salmon Run Mall, NY 3 & CR 100; former Christmas Tree Shops

Massena - St Lawrence Centre, NY 37; former Maurices

Wheels Discount Auto Supply

Fairly close AI fantasy location. Courtesy Meta.

 Fays Drugs had Wheels Discount Auto Supply, where you could get parts for your car at the lowest prices. When the parent company were sold to JCPenneys Eckerd, Wheels locations went to other chains naturally. Had to challenge myself again because I only know a couple current ones myself. Penneys (my family still used that name) close competitor Sears' Western Auto (forgot about them) bought Wheels' assets by 1996 prior to the pharmacy chains sale (so much for Sears, but we did them). Wheels later acquired National Auto Supply and Whitlock (new to me), yet it was in vain as all three chains would be no more. There were a total of 36, but I'll be lucky to find half of them (small towns and/or areas I know are easier to guess).

Syracuse - Shop City; previously National Auto Supply, now Advance Auto Parts

deWitt - NY 5; now Charneys (see previous post)

Manlius - NY 173

Fayetteville - N Burdick St?

Cortland - NY 13, 222, and/or 281

Cicero - E Circle Dr

Erie and Kingston, PA - previously Whitlock

Buffalo - Niagara St, now Advance Auto Parts

Gates - TBD

Auburn - NY 5

Fulton - NY 481

Oswego - NY 104

Ithaca - NY 13/34/96

Watertown - NY 3

Fairmount - W Genesee St

Troy - TBD

Plattsburgh - TBD

Malone - US 11

Albany - NY 5, Westgate Shopping Plaza

Ilion - NY 5S

Utica - NY 5

New Hartford - NY 5A

Rome - NY 46

Oneida - NY 5

Mattydale - US 11?

Waterloo - NY 5 & US 20

The Paper Cutter

If The Paper Cutter were still cutting it today with AI.

 Fays Drugs had The Paper Cutter division with office, party and school supplies until the main chain were sold to JCPenneys Eckerd subsidiary in 1996-97 (auto parts chain Wheels would go to other chains, but that'll have to wait for another day). I could only remember a couple off the top of my head. People on Facebook recalled others in town, so this required some digging like many of the chains that have only closed in the past few decades (even some of those before our time that are regional have a spreadsheet). Staples, OfficeMax/Office Depot (now out of CNY), Party City (now in the same boat), and today amazon (go figure) would make The Paper Cutter almost impossible now (we've done The Paper Store earlier).

The one thing I have with the real logo.

Camillus - Camillus Plaza; long since demolished and was over where Walmart are now next to Goldbergs, Hills, Price Chopper (which closed in 1982), and other chains that belong to the ages now

North Syracuse - North Plaza, US 11 & Lawrence Rd E.; later Real Deals, now Dollar General

deWitt - NY 5; Empire Plaza; later Maines, now Ollies Bargain Outlet

Clay - NY 31 & 481; Marketfair North

New England - possibly Vermont and Massachusetts

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St; later McDonalds, formerly The Syracuse Trust Company, now vacant

deWitt (2) - NY 5, Shoppingtown (not everyones memories are accurate or from my lifetime)

Fairmount - Fairmount Fair (was in mall, which is now a plaza)

Capital Region - TBD (I don't remember seeing them there)

Glens Falls - TBD

Rome - NY 46 (Black River Blvd. since I know it wasn't downtown)

Guilderland - US 20 (another wild guess since the retail corridor that way from Crossgates to 20 Mall is obvious having gone to Albany County forever)

Ithaca - NY 13/34/96 (would have to be since it's the main drag for most larger retail in the area)

Mohawk Valley - TBD

Horseheads - Grand Central Plaza, NY 14

Cortland - Riverside Plaza, NY 13 (small town hunch since Fays proper were there too)

Philadelphia area/Southern NJ/Lehigh and Delaware Valleys - TBD

Albany (Uptown) - NY 5, Westgate Shopping Center (found thanks to a tip)

Gates - TBD

WNY - TBD

Amherst - NY 324, Sheridan Centre Plaza; now Monster Mini Golf

Auburn - NY 5

Southern Tier - TBD

Susquehanna/Wyoming/Lackawanna Valleys, PA - TBD

If it were small in the mall down the hall (channelling Dr Seuss!)

Chicago Markets

If Chicago Markets were around today via AI (Meta).

 Chicago Markets were not in Chicago at all. They were right here in CNY and the Mohawk Valley until the '80s. I was far too young to remember the last one being open, but I've heard all about them in recent memory. Special thanks to our friends at Groceteria for their meticulous research on every vintage of the past five generations!

Syracuse (east side) - E Adams St

Syracuse (north side) - Butternut St; later Peters, now Save-a-Lot

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

Syracuse (east side) (2) - NY 5

Syracuse (south side) (1) - NY 175; later Family Dollar, now Dollar General

Syracuse (south side) (2)  - US 11, Valley Plaza; previously Acme, Tops and P&C (last two twice); now vacant

Utica - Mohawk St (later Great American and Tops, now Hannaford), Columbia St, Franklin Sq. (previously Mohican), Leland Ave (later Great American; now Big Lots and Parkway Drugs), and Oneida St (later Great American) (the flagships are grouped this way because I don't know the area quite as well compared to fifty miles away and to save time)

New Hartford - Genesee St (then-NY 5/8/12)

Yorkville - NY 5A & 69; now Mastrovito Hyundai

Oneida - NY 5 & 46; Ames Plaza; now Oneida Indian Nation offices

Amsterdam -  NY 30; previously Bag 'n Save and Loblaws

Gloversville -  NY 30A; previously Loblaws

TBD - Rome, Herkimer, Massena (can't be the same one since that's North Country)

Dollarama and Family Dollar

Typical Dollarama in Parkdale, Toronto in the boys' (Rush) backyard

 Dollar Tree are thinking of spinning off Family Dollar because of declining profits. While Family Dollar could go back to being on their own, they could be sold to Dollar Trees rival in Canada, Dollarama of Mount-Royal, Québec in Montréal. Dollarama have expanded into Latin America, but are only known in the US to those who have crossed the border to shop at one, like I have in Gananoque and Niagara Falls, ONT. If this were to happen like Sunrise buying FYE, then combination Dollar Tree/Family Dollar stores would likely convert to just Dollar Tree (the closest to me is in Rochester). The closest Family Dollar to me used to be another Canadian conglomerate, Loblaws, which we've touched upon already, that older people in the US may assume is gone who don't keep up or travel north. The merger would give the multi-generation owners the Rossys a blueprint that stretches across the Western Hemisphere that rivals that of Walmart. The product line would look the same that isn't at both apart from national brands and the US office should move back to Mecklenburg County after separating from Dollar Tree in Chesapeake Bay about a hundred miles away.

In Gananoque in eastern Ontario, there used to be an unrelated indie dollar store called Mega Family Dollar, but that was sold to Dollarama. That could be a sign. The Bargain Shop!, which took over Woolworths locations, were down Hwy 2 in the village until several years ago and is now one of the few mom and pop alternatives in the Kingston tourist exurb. There's also another place across the street.

Back in this country, Dollar General seem to do just fine while their rival(s) trail behind. Maybe selling Family Dollar may be the next step to move forward. After that, when I go to Dollarama, it'll still be different and largely catered to that market. Dollar Tree does sell a brand of soap from Mississauga, which is Toronto area, while the chains office in Canada is outside Vancouver, BC. We'll just wait and see if Family Dollar split in any case.

UPDATE (27/3/25): Family Dollar were just sold for $1B US to Macelleum and Brigade Capital Managements. Other recent events means that Dollarama won't touch US soil anytime soon, nor will Family Dollar be in Canada in the foreseeable future either. Back here, both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar have closed stores, and dual stores will have to rebrand as one or the other obviously or close.

ShopRite to open in Slingerlands - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

Close enough looking Tri-State location, courtesy Mike Mozart

ShopRite to open in Slingerlands - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports

UPDATE: When this and four others in the Capital Region closed in Fall 2023, this was the only one not to reopen as Market 32 when Price Chopper bought them since they have one already around the corner off NY 85 & 140 (I haven't been to either since some of my relatives passed, so I don't get to that part of town anymore when I come to the area).

Chase-Pitkin

What Chase-Pitkin would look like now (Meta AI)

    Chase-Pitkin were a home improvement chain that traces their roots back to 1857 in the Victorian era, and were sold to Wegmans in 1973, who expanded it to 14 locations. Stiff competition from Lowes and the Home Depot closed the chain in 2006, which also befell HQ/Hechinger, Grossmans (which absorbed Mr 2nds), Builders Square, and many mom and pop hardware stores (mainly True Value franchises). I mainly have CNY updates (shock, horror!). It's a wild good Chase, but not Slim-Pitkins!

deWitt/Fayetteville - NY 5 & 92; Wegmans Plaza; previously Fays, Ames, and Service Merchandise; later Value City and American Signature furniture store; now Hobby Lobby

North Syracuse - W Taft Rd; later Blink Fitness; now Evolve Fitness and Dollar Tree

Liverpool - NY 31, later American Signature and Value City Furniture; now Homegoods

Brockport - NY 19; now TJ Maxx

Syracuse - Onondaga Blvd., later Blink Fitness; now Evolve Fitness

Perinton - NY 31; TBD

Newark - NY 31; TBD

Fairport - NY 31 & 250; now Georgetown Wine & Spirits

Pittsford - NY 31; TBD

Greece - NY 104; TBD

Henrietta - NY 252; TBD

Penfield - NY 441 & 250; now Lisas Liquor Barn

Amherst - Alberta Dr; now Wegmans proper

Cheektowaga - Walden Ave; now Burlington

Rochester (N Winton/E Side) - now-NY 96; original store; address and building no longer exist

Rochester (blocks from above) - E Highland Dr; former Bilt-Rite; now Midtown Athletic Club

ChatGPT OpenAI version with classic design and fake logo

Former FYE/TransWorld locations

Older location, possibly in Connecticut; courtesy Mike Mozart

 FYE were formerly owned by TransWorld in Albany County, but were sold to Sunrise Records in Canada (which I did a separate post for when I thought they'd come to the US on their own). I will provide a list of as many of the chains that were acquired that had stores Upstate and beyond that I remember. Outside CNY and/or too far back, I can't say straight away what's there now.

Auburn (Sennett) - OnCue, now ALDI; NY 5

Auburn (Aurelius) - FYE, Fingerlakes Mall; vacant; NY 5 & US 20

Delmar - Coconuts, Delaware Plaza; NY 443

Albany (Guilderland) - Coconuts, Stuyvesant Plaza; US 20

Albany (Colonie) - Colonie Center (old and later stores); NY 5 & Wolf Rd*

Syracuse (north side 1) - Carousel Center/Destiny USA (old store closed 2012), later Papaya*

Syracuse (north side 2) - same as above; Record World, Square Circle and Suncoast

Syracuse (downtown 1) - Record Town, later Dollar Wise, now closed; S Salina St

Syracuse (downtown 2) - Tape World, Galleries, now offices; S Salina & E Jefferson Sts.

deWitt - FYE and Record Town, Shoppingtown Mall; mall to become District East; NY 5

Fayetteville - Record Town, Fayetteville Mall, now Towne Center; NY 5 & N Burdick St

Williamsville - NY 78

Utica (Deerfield) - Camelot Music, Riverside Mall, now Riverside Plaza; NY 8, 12 & 49

Clay - Great Northern Mall, to redeveloped with Microns pending arrival; NY 31 & 481

Cicero - Record Town, Penn Can Mall, now Drivers Village

Camillus - Record Town, Camillus Mall, now Camillus Commons (Lowes and Walmart)

Fairmount - Record Town, Fairmount Fair, now strip center

Washington, DC - Union Station

Kingston - Record Town, Hudson Valley Mall, US 9W

*current stores down the hall

Gordon Food Service

Miami-Dade County location

 I was just told about Gordon Food Service, which services restaurants, schools, institutions, care homes and other businesses. They also have a retail division open to the general public. We used to have their competitor Maines in CNY in deWitt and North Syracuse, and GFS used to be in Watertown and remain in Buffalo, but have no other stores in the state today. I've gone to a similar mom and pop in Cortland, but it's just not the same. Like the wholesale clubs, they carry bulk, which is maybe too much for someone on their own like me. It would be a welcome change to the scene.

Syracuse (Westvale) - former P&C/Tops. Westvale Plaza, NY 5

New Hartford - former Herb Phillipsons, New Hartford Shopping Center

Albany - former Barnes & Noble, Wolf Rd.

Henrietta - former Bed, Bath & Beyond; NY 252

Cortland - former kmart, NY 281

Vestal - former Bed, Bath & Beyond; NY 434

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

Schenectady - former Grand Union/ALDI; NY 5 & 7