7 Brew Coffee

7 Brew building site in Melbourne, FL in 2022 (I'll get my own snap shortly)

 7 Brew Coffee are a growing chain of drive-thru coffee takeaways, with new locations in North Syracuse and Rome, with Auburn and other area on the way, but there are some they may not have considered yet. They build from scratch and they take no time at all to pop up, so if an old property is sat and no longer of any use, it can just be demolished to make way for 7 Brew, which is easier for people in cars, even though I stumbled upon the Rome one at short notice, which had led me to write this one. May not be the easiest for those of us who don't drive or get on with technology (over-60s).

deWitt or Syracuse (east side) - NY 5

Clay or Liverpool - NY 31 or CR 57 (given Micron)

Cortland - NY 281 or 13 (local chain Coffeemania are also drive-thru only, so it'd be classic David & Goliath in a small town, you know)

Ithaca - NY 13/34/96 (former Burger King)

Auburn - NY 5 (former Eckerd/Rite Aid; confirmed)

Camillus or Fairmount - W Genesee St

Oswego - NY 104

Fulton - NY 3 or 481

Oneida - NY 5

ChatGPT OpenAI express version of 7 Brew Coffee

Salt City Coffee

Notsky the dog furry in Pamplona mode on a Valentine (Open AI)

 Salt City Coffee are one of the largest local coffee chains in town, giving even Café Kubal a run for their money, with four locations (near west side flagship, downtown bar, SU Hill, and Fayetteville) and a fifth on the way, which the other chain decided against, and an existing location that they sold to Salt City Coffee after a rift with next door neighbor 3fifteen and its owner the Rescue Mission, if not the Willowbank Company, the landlord of Marshall Square Mall, which they run in partnership with SU. Salt City Coffee could open a few more stores without selling out and staying true to their name, since CNY or any given area these days has no shortage of local coffee shops to compete with the big chains.

North Syracuse - US 11 & S Bay Rd, Northern Lights Plaza; former Hofmann Hot Haus/Salt City Dogs (unrelated business) (pictured below)

Syracuse (east side) - Salt Springs Rd & deMong Dr; former leMoyne Firehouse at Barbs Bistro after Kubal had backed out (confirmed for the start of the upcoming fall semester)

Syracuse (north side) - 1 Walsh Circle (off NY 370), Regional Transportation Centre; former Dunkin'

Liverpool - CR 57, Glenn Crossing Plaza; one of two former restaurants TBD

East Syracuse - NY 298 & Weighlock Dr; former Starbucks and Jimmy Johns (between Carrier Circle, Northern Blvd and Collamer across from Kinne St off Thruway exit 35)

Fantasy location in North Syracuse

Original Valentine with Notsky and added logo

Revised Ghibli Valentine with added logo and edits

Where to Hold Adult Prom in Syracuse

Kitty and doggy are ready for the big night!

    Now in my tenth year of finding a prom in my area (even in 2020 when even the kids were out of luck, and I'm doing this for those who were deprived in 2020-21 as well as those of us of every vintage who are looking to either make up or redo like it's a test we had to take in order to earn it). While I was able to find something I could go to with just one days notice, I'm still determined to get this done, especially since Singers Karaoke Club have now decided that they won't have it this year after all because of other events being planned, even after last years revival following a long, long pause. A pride prom in Rome not just for young people has raised money, and it's on a Saturday this time, which is free if you live right in the area, but not if you have to pay more money getting there than being there, even if it's less than some events back home or starting from scratch. Going even further from town is out of the question for me and many others, even if they can drive. I wrote the list offline first before copying it here. I just wish this could be done in my backyard when they are held in one-horse towns as much as the big cities. Can't even get concerts to come here every time anymore (that's more for the sister blog). I also found where to have it in other Upstate metros, but it'd be more sporadic because I wouldn't know them all combined as well as my own backyard, of course, which is why I stay there. I went to Rome since I could absorb that cost, as that was my only option for the time being thus far, but I ruled out another prom in the Mohawk Valley, being held a hotel in New Hartford in July on a Tuesday, which is rare. The town (Utica) is small, but not that small (even if you do have your own way around). Because of poor bus scheduling in Rome, I don't want to make the same mistake twice in Utica and New Hartford, even though there'd be better chance of a bus turning up, I will stay close to home for these events in future because I had to be picked up and lodged a complaint to one bus company.
    I haven't ruled out holding adult prom in Syracuse, even if it's not in the springtime or this year, although I found a more exclusive event at short notice similar to a couple I went to several years ago. That place closed months after not long before COVID and is still vacant, yet I would buy it and use it as a small event space to let, but until then, here are the numerous options in and around the city I can come up with. Price, parking, ADA compliance and bus lines all are factored in to each venue.
    Someone else in my area said that they're planning on having one this Labour Day Weekend (5 or 6 September), so that saves having to go two counties away again just for that. They'll most likely book one of the larger spots downtown. Might be a different lot than the other two this year, but one must keep an open mind. Just hope tickets are reasonably priced. A charity ball in Jefferson County charged $25 for singles, which would be doable here. Comes before the start of school and homecoming season in the Northeast. Other places are considering, but this is the only one half-confirmed thus far in Syracuse, so that saves me the trouble of navigating (as everyone says these days) this on my own.

Downtown/Armoury Square

Palladian Hall; N Salina St (former OnBank/M&T Bank)

Maxwells, Hanover Square; E Genesee St (formerly Elbow Room)

The Rail Line; S Clinton St

Sky Armoury; S Salina & Clinton Sts (has hosted some proms before, but not in a period)

Marriott Syracuse Downtown (has several regular proms and may be too expensive); E Onondaga, Harrison & N Warren Sts, formerly Hotel Syracuse

OnCentre (same, even though it's taxpayer property); US 11

Landmark Theatre (has hosted a few of these in the corridor and lobby); S Salina St; formerly Loews State (from studio system era under MGM); unavailable during the summer because of renovations and when there are residencies.

Liverpool

Randolph House Hotel, Electronics Pkwy & 7th North St off I-90 (Traditions of Wyndham franchise; formerly Ramada [sister chain]/Sheraton/Holiday Inn. No regular proms this year. Have gone for CD Record Fair and Easter buffet)

Cicero

Carnegie Conference Centre, E Circle Dr; Drivers Village (former Penn-Can Mall in old Denbys wing near clock tower; also no run-of-the-diploma-mill proms in 2025; went for festive do last year)

Mattydale

VFW Post 3146; Truck NY 298 & leMoyne Ave (went for late Lent chippy)

Maplewood Bar & Grill, US 11 (former Zebbs); Mattydale Plaza (former kmart plaza; formerly at Holiday Inn & Suites in Liverpool [previously Maplewood Inn & Suites and Days Inn]; opening by this fall)

East Syracuse

American Legion Post 359; NY 290 (Halloween parties and fundraisers held there; other venue I wanted is closing)

Onondaga Hill

SRC Arena, OCC, NY 173 & 175

Camillus (in name only)/Onondaga

TK Tavern; Howlett Hill Rd, Taunton (original location off NY 5 had Salt City Collective prom twice)

Tipp Hill

Emerald Cocktail Kitchen (suggested to them and they will consider); W Fayette St

Ukrainian National Home (SCC prom moved there after old TK closed from a fire); W Wilbur Ave

Eastwood

Palace Theatre; NY 290 (has no lift to get upstairs at this time unfortunately being older and smaller)

American Legion Post #1276; NY 290 (former Friendlys; not sure if they even do this at new location)

Brewerton

Brewerton Centre for the Arts; US 11 (hosted one two years ago, yet may be too far for some people)

Syracuse (east side)

Harveys Garden (floofs had back room, yet prom could be held upstairs); E Water St

Syracuse (west side)

Singers (last resort during the day if booked as a private event since nights are ruled out)

Car washes

A car wash in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland. Courtesy Günther Hentschel.

 It seems like lately, new car washes open up left and right. Of course, they need to be cleaned, yet they seem to be an easier business to open than others with a bit less red tape. Nowadays, they are larger than ever, able to accommodate dozens of customers. Delta Sonic alone get queues several yards long. They are also the only way to get Tim Hortons in CNY. Other competitors have replaced former chains such as Babies 'R Us, Cams Pizzeria/Hardees/Hortons/ Dougs/TJs Fish Fry, an older car wash, a phone store, and other businesses. I miss the kind of full service car wash where you could have the attendant take your car through while you wait and then they clean the inside out after (this is called detail). Those must still exist. Car washes aren't nationalised, if you like. They're regional or indie. Also, get undercarriage because it prevents rust if you don't have rust already (one of my pet hates about motor cars, along with bumper stickers, dents, scratches, and bin bags in windows if you're too cheap to get them fixed).

Pizza Hut in CNY

Classic red mansard roof design in Saratoga County in the Capital Region, 2014.

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

 Pizza Hut aren't as big as they once were. So many have closed over the past few decades in CNY alone. I have to dig through my mental archive again for this one. They remain in East Syracuse, Liverpool, Cicero, Auburn, and an express location in Niagara Falls, ONT (the boys' side) for that matter. Here's where they "panned" out (to think Craig Robinson, who used to do the adverts, did one with Shaq for the General, since the NBA icon has a Papa Johns franchise and specialty pizza to boot):

Syracuse (Eastwood) (1) - Shop City Plaza, Swansea Dr & Lea La; later Antonios and a barbecue (Salt City BBQ?); now City Laundromat; was truncated in late '90s before closing

Syracuse (Eastwood) (2) - NY 290; later Papa Johns; now Liberty Tax*

Fayetteville - Highbridge St; now Twin Trees*

deWitt - NY 5; demolished; now Calibre Collision

Mattydale - US 11; now X-Crispy Chicken

Oneida - NY 5; now vacant

Syracuse (Fairmount) - W Genesee St; later Pudgies; now Stellas Diner

Chittenango - NY 5 & 13; now Chittenango Pizza

Cortland - NY 13; now Hydes Diner

Syracuse (south side/Valley) - US 11, Valley Plaza*

Nedrow - US 11; now vacant

Baldwinsville - Downer St, River Mall; becoming TJs Cannabis (never thought I'd be putting that on) 

*Pizza Hut Delivery

Café Kubal

Eastwood location taken at short notice from the car

 Café Kubal in Syracuse are a local coffee chain now in their fourth decade. However, several locations have closed since then. Competition from both national chains and other indies alike, as well as the economy have been a challenge to Kubals business like anyones. The SU Hill store once had a deal with 3fifteen next door where you fill a bag with donations and you'd get a ticket for a free coffee, but they had fallen out in court, and that location is now local rival Salt City Coffee, while Kubal moved just a few blocks away to Golisano Childrens Hospital at SUNY Upstate, making it limited to visitors, staff and patients (not so much the kids, mind). The current downtown location is in the old Dey Brothers building and is now the de facto flagship, whilst the Creekside Commons one is just across Armory Square within walking distance. The near northside location is now just the roastery, which the Eastwood one once was, and will become something else later this year. The North Syracuse location on US 11 and W Taft Road at Sweetheart Corners was a onetime Tim Hortons. New locations are planned for the future as this is just as common with the big chains. The former leMoyne firehouse was scheduled to become Kubal, but decided to become Salt City Coffee itself instead. May be too late for the other uni hill as their bridges may otherwise be burned as far as a regular location, and there are already a handful of other options on or close to campus now. No need for me to come up with new spots myself, since that's too easy, and of course, it's not my job anyway (I usually do this because that's my trademark, even though I can't really encourage someone elses). Also want to keep Kubal small. Here are where Café Kubal once were brewing:

Syracuse (downtown) - Marriott Syracuse Downtown (née Hotel Syracuse), S Warren St; previously Hardees; now vacant or just used by the hotel

Syracuse (east side/SU Hill) - Marshall Square Mall, Marshall St & University Ave; former uni bookshop and bar; now Salt City Coffee (that will get its own post shortly)

Syracuse (Eastwood) - NY 290, Eastwood Plaza; closed for rebrand, becoming Caffé Così this summer according to building site permit posted in the window; former Thrifty Shopper; roastery formerly located in part of Sacred Melody (half that closed in early '00s that is also vacant, but also has a permit for liquor store/former Hooches Furniture/Carls?/True Value Hardware) (pictured above and below; sign on wall is now blank in real life, unfortunately)

Syracuse (near northside) - N Townsend St & Hawley Ave; on-again, off again flagship; roastery only right now (between NY 290 & 5 and I-690)

Manlius - NY 92 & 257; former Bank of America; soon to be Utica suburb Yorkville-based bakery Holland Farms' first location outside Oneida County; drive-up ATM remains

Auburn - Genesee St; only non-Syracuse area location to date; only open for two months' time, likely due to unfamiliarity of name in Cayuga County and economy overall (simplistic but valid reason, and it's a small town that I know enough)

North Syracuse - US 11 & W Taft Rd, Sweetheart Corners; previously Tim Hortons and former site of Sweetheart Market; soon to become Zaman Coffee House, a Turkish style indie.

Fantasy future location, but not sure where to put it.

Caffé Così in former Eastwood location (OpenAI)

Rebuilding Ovid

Main St (NY 96A & 414) in Ovid in happier times. Very special courtesy Jo Zimny. CC-by-NC-ND 2.0.

 21 January is a day no one in the small Finger Lakes village of Ovid shall forget when an electrical fire broke out in a flat upstairs from Big M on Main St (once an IGA, according to one local resident), taking out four other local businesses and several other apartments. I wanted to use my AI skills that I've picked up this past year and try to come up with new versions of all five of these mom and pop establishments, which also included Uptown Diner (which needed more attempts than the others combined), Eva's Laundry, Italian Kitchen and Seneca Coffee House. Most of these buildings seem to date back to the Victorian and Edwardian eras, although some like this can go as far back as Regency. There are priceless memories attached to these places, of course, and not even I.M. Pei himself could truly replace these if he were still alive. It's still early days right now, but rebuilding is on the agenda once the debris is cleared and the weather is cooperative for a building site. Another restaurant that had been around much longer closed several years ago on the outskirts of town, but the two from Main St probably either don't want to be away from the rest of the commercial district, or because of events from years past which we won't get into here. There had been another fire a decade earlier, however.
 Seniors are provided a bus twice a week to go to Walmart and Tops to go shopping for the time being, since many don't drive anymore or won't go all the way to Waterloo or Wegmans in Geneva themselves (you're on your own there or if you're younger). Of course, small business gets taken for granted and you just never know. It can be months if not years before all these are back in new homes. If buildings like the ones lost could be designed, then new apartments could also go on top, given the housing crisis. Several ways to donate are available to show your support. We'll have to check on Ovid down the road to see how they come on like other places big and small that suffered disaster in recent memory.

'50s dinerette which may be too small, even for Ovid

This may be a bit more possible than a standalone.

Switched to Grok on X and got a more outlying result.

Retro Uptown Diner that won't work in winter!

The little local launderette. Don't know if Eva is.

The local coffee shop, or at least the roastery.

Big M, in a design that should fit on the block.

Italian Kitchen, my kind of restaurant!

A more possible scenario for todays small town.

Another Big M cornershop with Craiyon

Might be more fitting for Big M

Needed to create the outside of Evas Laundry

The real Big M in the early '90s (unknown)

New apartment building (harder to make)

Upstairs flats above storefront (too simplistic)

Ovid Arms, but I got two pastoral mock Tudor cottages

Ovid Arms, but a bit too posh and townie

These are also too upscale for a rural community

Chi-Chi's

Chi-Chi's in Luxembourg (which is now closed, with just another in the EU)

 Chi-Chi's was a Tex-Mex restaurant chain I vaguely remember from the old days, and there was one on NY 5 on Syracuses east side, but a Hepatitis outbreak two decades ago ended the chain in this country, while most of the European franchises closed in more recent memory, leaving one in Belgium. The brand was still in the frozen section when sold to Hormel, and they'll licence the name for a revival of the chain. Not sure if this is up to Pati Jinich standards since I can't eat any of this myself, but they hope to regain the publics trust if it's still a fresh memory or they think the name was long gone entirely. Here's where it could go today.

Syracuse - Destiny USA; former Cantina Loredo

Dayton/Springfield/Miami Valley area, OH - former Frischs Big Boy

Latham - US 9; former BurgerFi

Clifton Park - US 9; former BurgerFi

New Hartford - CR 30; former Unos

Watertown - CR 100; former Tilted Kilt

Cortland - NY 13; former JoAnn Fabrics; Riverside Mall

Auburn - NY 5 & US 20; Fingerlakes Mall

Amherst - NY 78; TBD

Rochester; NY 252; TBD

Haraz Coffee House

Future Syracuse location

    As I pointed out before, Shirt World on SU Hill will be replaced soon by Haraz Coffee House, a chain based in Dearborn, MI in the Detroit-Windsor area, founded by Yemeni immigrants. Not knowing the first thing about Mid-East coffee myself, this seems interesting, and I know this will do well once it opens. The only current locations in New York are in Buffalo (only one on their site so far) and SoHo downstate. Malls aren't really suited for this kind of place. You know the rule about properties.

New Hartford    NY 5A, former Blaze Pizza, Consumer Square

Rochester            NY 15, Strong URMC Ties Neighborhood (TBD) or NY 96, former Spot Coffee

Albany            US 20, former CVS/pharmacy if Kinney won't come

Syracuse            Marshall St, former Shirt World (pictured and confirmed)

Stop & Shop: 32 former stores

2014 usual store, likely in Connecticut, courtesy Mike Mozart (we love you, Mike!).

 Stop & Shop have closed a whooping thirty-two locations in the tri-state, New England and New Jersey that were considered underperforming. Others have already closed in the recent past, with a few vacant to this day, while former sister chain Tops* bought several in the Hudson Valley that overlapped with Hannaford after the Ahold Delhaize merger in the Benelux, while Weis acquired some Food Lions in DMV/Delmarva that were too close to Giant (Landover)* and other chains had in the mid-Atlantic (some stores were likely from another former Ahold division, BI-LO, which we covered a while ago). I remember seeing a Food Lion in Maryland leaving DC a couple times heading home from hols on coach trips, which would be a Weis by now. Back up north, only a handful of S&Ss have been taken over by others like Food Bazaar. Here in New York, it's more downstate, with Coram, Long Island being one that became a casualty. It's too exhausting to submit that many closing stores to Bing and Google since it's not automatic, although some locations are already marked, being in a big area.

I've only gone to Stop & Shop when I lived in Dutchess County in the mid-Hudson Valley on occasion, as well as when I last visited. They bought the newer ShopRite in Hyde Park a year after I left, and later built a new Stop & Shop across US 9 where the old ShopRite was. It wasn't right near a Hannaford, yet the Rhinebeck store up the road near the old Grand Union* was considered to be and was sold to Tops (Hannaford was across the bridge in Kingston in the old days, initially as a Shop 'n Save franchise), as was Wappinger Falls going the other way. It was a nice, big store on US 9 (south of Poughkeepsie), while Arlington (east of Poughkeepsie) was a bit smaller. Never went to Stop & Shop on either of my Boston trips since there was no time and Star Market near the Pru (sister to Shaws) was much more convenient since I was on another package bus deal (same group as the beltway stay, as well as WNY and the tri-state, but not for the public), which is much less expensive than a flight to Logan Airport.

The chain are just one of many businesses that have suffered over the past five years. To make it worse, Stop & Shop are a union shop to boot, so it'd be better to come up with another to fill the vacuum if one isn't nearby already. While a new local store would be even greater, it's more uphill to come up with that, especially in an area which you don't know personally, so I'd just have to think of chains that serve each region, whether they're still expanding or not. It's more Stop than Shop now, you could say.

Acme* (tri-state/NJ)

Market Basket (Massachusetts and Connecticut)

Big Y* (Connecticut stores)

ShopRite*/Price Rite (same as Acme)

PathMark* (see earlier post)

Whole Foods/Amazon Fresh/Amazon Go (all areas where one or the other isn't yet)

Wegmans (even though they usually only do up other peoples buildings in big cities with tight infrastructure, only open so many a year, and have recently expanded beyond the Northeast)

Tops* (just the two heading up the Hudson. Carmel is the closest store to the City [post-merger])

Thrift stores (if another supermarket is off the table, then this is a plan B)

Food Bazaar (tri-state indie with multicultural selection)

Indies/local business (missus in Maryland would love that one)

*UFCW Union Shop

Shirt World

One last look at Shirt World on SU Hill

 It's always a right shame when a local business closes, and certainly when one as unique and distinct as Shirt World on Marshall Street on SU Hill. After five decades in business, it has closed. Your one stop shop for all things orange (I despise the "s" word, and I don't mean Syracuse, of course). The owners have decided to retire from retail and transition to renting out the property. It has been confirmed that a chain are letting the space in the coming months, and I will update as soon as we know who they are. While they've had a good run, it seems like selling out when national chains take over college neighborhoods and other areas like this, making them devoid of their charm and personality. I can remember some other big names as well as other indies in the old days that have come and gone, but Shirt World had few peers. There may still be inventory left at the end of the last day, even with a long queue and marked down prices. However, most of the good stuff was still a pretty penny, too nice to be that cheap. I settled for one of those game day wigs I could work into my Halloween costume (story for another post, and that would make this too topical and dated) so I could say goodbye somehow. I still have a couple things I bought there, even though they were expensive. Much of what people got there likely wound up around the block at 3fifteen when they didn't need it anymore since it is a boutique charity shop targeting the Orange Nation if you like. On Game Day, both shops, as well as Mannys, Schine, and others would sell out and eventually replenish before the next one the rest of each season. Anyway, if charity isn't an option for these goods, even for tax purposes, I suppose these places would take it off of them, if it works that way. Dicks and Rally House wouldn't need any of the lot. Champs and Scholars downtown sell used goods from before 2000. Even online is too easy these days.

Schine Student Center in the bookshop; Waverly Ave., main campus on the promenade (recently acquired by Barnes & Noble College, who also run the leMoyne and OCC stores)

Mannys on the Hill, Shirt Worlds former main rival; onetime Charneys satellite store

University Sport Shop; Destiny USA, north side

Charneys; NY 5, deWitt (mostly mens, especially big and tall)

Papas Sports; NY 370, north side (likely anything they made that Shirt World bought wholesale)

Whatever happens, we wish good luck to the owners and staff on what the future may hold.

UPDATE: Haraz Coffee House, a chain from Dearborn, MI with ties to Yemen, will be opening in the space in the coming weeks. I expected something comparable as far as apparel, but this makes sense too, despite more national names on the hill than in the old days. Haraz could get their own post at a later time, even though I'm not familiar with the chain or Middle Eastern coffee myself.

Radio Shack in CNY and Beyond

Later store, possibly in Connecticut; courtesy Mike Mozart (of course)

 Radio Shack seem like another relic of a bygone era. They still had stores in recent memory, even if they were more or less Sprint stores before Sprint were absorbed by T-Mobile. In the UK, they operated under the parent name Tandy. Back here, they were in nearly every town. Realistic was one of their store brands. By the 2000s, the chain became obsolete, unable to compete with big box and the internet (go figure). Unicomber in el Salvador now own the name, so you may be surprised that it's still alive and well. I even saw a store last year in the Southern Tier! Here's what I can gather from memory:

Syracuse (downtown) - S Salina St (most likely, but possibly in the Galleries from 1988-2001?)

Syracuse (Lyncourt) - Grant Blvd & Teall Ave, Shop City Plaza

Syracuse (east side) - NY 5, regular store and computer center a few doors down

deWitt - NY 5, Shoppingtown Mall

Fayetteville - NY 5 & N Burdick St, Fayetteville Mall

Cazenovia - NY 13 & US 20; dealer/franchise

Syracuse (north side) - Carousel Center/Destiny USA

Cicero - Penn Can Mall (now Drivers Village)

Clay - NY 31 & 481, Great Northern Mall

Camillus - W Genesee St; Camillus Mall

Utica (Deerfield) - NY 5, 8, 12, & 49; Riverside Mall

New Hartford - NY 5 & 5A; Sangertown Square

Delmar - NY 443; Delaware Plaza

Oswego - NY 104

Fulton - NY 481

Lisle - NY 79 (recent store)

Rochester (1) - NY 96 (later store; then T-Mobile; now closed)

Rochester (2) - NY 96, downtown; Midtown Mall

Henrietta - NY 252 & 15A; Marketplace Mall

Greece - NY 104; The Mall at Greece Ridge

Irondequoit -Irondequoit Mall (now Skyview on the Ridge)

Victor - NY 96; Eastview Mall

Seneca Falls - NY 5 & US 20

Auburn (1) - NY 5 & US 20, Fingerlakes Mall

Auburn (2) - NY 5, Grant Ave Plaza (later store; now T-Mobile)

Pavone's Pizza

Downtown location edited with my phone

 Pavone's Pizza have been part of CNY since 1971 and have had as many as six locations. Founded by Sicilian immigrants, they bring downstate pizza Upstate. I don't go as much as I used to anymore. Here are past and present locations.

Syracuse (downtown) - S Warren St (pictured; edited for privacy reasons)

Manlius - NY 92 & 173 (E Seneca St); related law firm upstairs

Syracuse (Fairmount) - Fairmount Fair Mall, W Genesee St; closed by '90s; original location

Camillus - Camillus Mall, W Genesee St; closed by 2003

Cicero - Penn Can Mall, E Circle Dr; closed by 1993, now Drivers Village

deWitt - Shoppingtown Mall, NY 5; closed by 2019, now vacant

Liverpool - Seneca Mall, CR 57; closed by '90s (TBD)

Utica (Deerfield) - Riverside Mall, NY 5, 8, 12 & 49; now Riverside Center with Walmart and Bass Pro Shops (first location outside Onondaga County)

Syracuse (north side) - Butternut St.; former la Pizzeria

East Syracuse - Chimneys Plaza, Bridge St (successor to deWitt location)

Brewerton/Hastings/Central Square - CR 37; just opened, but no info on official site; first location outside Onondaga County this century and since Oneida County one above closed decades ago

True Value in CNY

Quintessential small town Central California store in Lone Pine, CA

 True Value Hardware have entered administration being unable to compete with Lowes, Home Depot, Menards (covered earlier and not yet in the Northeast) and Runnings. Many franchises converted to Ace over the years, including in CNY in recent years. True Value were the epitome of the mom and pop hardware store, which isn't entirely dead outside small towns and suburbs. Another competitor Do It Best just bought True Value. DIB are available at Valu (no relation), as well as in Cazenovia, Elbridge,  Constantia, Chittenango, Baldwinsville, Liverpool (at Runnings ironically), Canastota and Tully, while DIB have had affiliates in East Syracuse (Doow Hardware in Oot Park/Fremont on N Burdick St Rd) and Fulton (NY 3, not Burkes on 2nd St). True Value in CNY remain in Manlius (NY 92) and Cazenovia (US 20) to name a few, as well as Taylor Rental (no hardware) on NY 5 in deWitt (not that Taylor!). The merger may possibly make any new True Value franchises unlikely and overlapping ones could even switch over to Ace themselves if one isn't around already. Here's what I can gather from memory or from new research of where one could get tools and such with personal service without the big box behemoth in the old days.

Syracuse (Eastwood) (1) - NY 290 & Marlborough Rd; later dollar store and Pomco; now United HealthCare

Syracuse (Eastwood) (2) - NY 290 between North Ave & Eastwood Rd; Nightingales; former Rite Aid; demolished for Walgreens in 2006

Syracuse (Eastwood) (3) - NY 290; Eastwood Plaza; Nightingales; half of former Sacred Melody; later Hooches, soon to be liquor store according to permit from city

Syracuse (west side) - Calleys City Hardware, 214 S Geddes St (now vacant; no longer listed on site)

Marcellus - South St Rd; Nightingale Mills (same family as Eastwood); now Ace

Syracuse (south side) - NY 173 & US 11; now Bobs Ace

Brewerton - US 11 & Bartell Rd; TBD

Mattydale - US 11; now J&J deSantis Plumbing

Syracuse (east side); Westcott St; Scharfs; TBD

Orange Julius

Allegany County location with Dairy Queen, other takeaways and Dollar General

Jim.Henderson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 Orange Julius is a one-of-a-kind drink no one has ever copied. They used to be in Shoppingtown Mall in deWitt, where I've heard of them in the old days, but I don't think I ever had one. Dairy Queen, who now own Orange Julius through Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway, now only have a franchise in my area in Cicero, which is too far for me and does not carry Orange Julius (same with many DQs, since some don't even have Brazier for hot foods). The closest area to have it is WNY with fourteen locations. Some people may assume it doesn't exist anymore since so many have closed over the past few decades as standalones. Because corporate only offer the two chains as a package deal today, we'll have to put the pair of them together and come up with food courts, vacant competitors or even college neighborhoods to satisfy our sweet tooth (don't tell my doctor or dentist, mind!).

Syracuse (north side) - former Dunkin'; Regional Transportation Center (Destiny USA around the corner has no room right now and have other things to deal with)

Cortland - former JoAnn Fabrics; Riverside Plaza, NY 13

Oneida - former KFC?; NY 5

Albany (Delaware Area) former Friendlys; US 9W & NY 443

Binghamton - Broome County Transportation Center; Chenango St

Ithaca - former Starbucks, Collegetown; former Burger King, NY 13/34/96; or TBD, The Commons

New Hartford - former Boil Shack; NY 5

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall; NY 5 & US 20

Rochester - former Calios; NY 252

Paris Baguette Café

Paris Baguette Café in Seoul, South Korea; 2015. Courtesy Choi Kwang-mo.

최광모, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

 While looking for the next idea, I turned to one of my Facebook groups and found Paris Baguette Café, a South Korean chain which just opened in Franklin County (Ohio Capital Region). While I've gone to an indie where east meets west, and have Korean TV shows on at home all the time, this could work here too. I found them in the Commons in Ithaca, but didn't need to go there.

Syracuse - Marshall St; former Jimmy Johns or Pita Pit

Auburn - Fingerlakes Mall; NY 5 & US 20

Colonie - Colonie Ctr; NY 5 & Wolf Rd

New Hartford - Sangertown Square; NY 5 & 5A

Rochester - NY 96; former Spot Coffee

Pathmark

Former Hackensack, NJ store on NJ 17

 Another chain with a history in the Tri-State and beyond has returned. This time, it's Pathmark. I heard of them way back from New York TV like a couple of their competitors, and they were briefly in CNY on NY 5 in deWitt in the '80s as Pathmark Super Drug; the store sold to Woolworths Rx Place later in the decade. One of Pathmarks old rivals, A&P (which also had been Upstate), bought them later, but went bankrupt and closed. While it may be too late for A&P, Pathmark was sold to a new company, but just have one store in the middle in Brooklyn so far. The chain replaced a ShopRite franchise when they were founded. Like so many others, Pathmark had undergone a financial rollercoaster (haven't we all?).

Stop & Shop are now closing stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and downstate, as well as Massachusetts and Rhode Island (those two will have to find other chains to fill the vacuum) because of declining sales. Pathmark could buy those and return to Connecticut after nearly three decades. Any other closed stores in the boroughs, Long Island and New Jersey, be it ShopRite or something else could also be acquired. Maybe even the old Price Choppers on NY 5 in Albany County so that a union chain can return to the immediate area, although I don't think the drugstore even made it up river in the old days, while it went further up the Thruway to my end, as well as a cart more recently and strangely.  I won't be listing past locations since it's tiring enough with other chains and speculative future ones, but archive.org and Groceteria should have what you're looking for (main chain only) for most areas where Pathmark had made their namesake.

Closing Stop & Shops unless indicated:

East Meadow - NY 24 & 106

Ansonia, CT - Division St

Danbury, CT - Newtown Rd, Beaverbrook

Milford, CT - US 1 & CT 162

Stamford, CT - US 1

Torrington, CT - High St near JCPenney

Carlstadt, NJ - Paterson Ave

Edison, NJ (1) - Inman Grove Shopping Ctr

Edison, NJ (2) - US 1

Jackson Township, NJ- CR 526

Piscataway, NJ - Stelton Rd

Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ - NJ 35

Ringwood, NJ - CR 692

Howell, NJ - US 9

Phillipsburg, NJ - US 22

Franklin Township, NJ - NJ 27

Poughkeepsie/Arlington - US 44 & NY 55; former ShopRite

Brooklyn - Cropsey Ave

Greenvale - NY 25A; Wheatley Plaza

West Haverstraw - US 202; Samsondale Plaza

Coram - NY 25 & 112

Mt Vernon - E Sandford Blvd

Hempstead - NY 102

Wayne, NJ - former ShopRite

West Nyack - former Grand Union/Stop & Shop/MetFresh or ShopRite, NY 59

West Babylon - former ShopRite; NY 109

Albany (Uptown) - NY 5; former Price Chopper; Westgate Shopping Center

Colonie - NY 5; former Price Chopper; Colonie Plaza

Ellenville - former ShopRite; US 209

Montague, NJ - former ShopRite; NJ 23

Cortlandt Manor - former ShopRite; US 9

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!).

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, now Blink Fitness and Dollar Tree

Liverpool - NY 31, later Best Buy; now Value City Furniture

Brockport - NY 19; now TJ Maxx

Syracuse - Onondaga Blvd., now Blink 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) - 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

Dougs Fish Fry to Go

Dougs to Go Trailer parked in Manlius

 For a number of years, Doug's Fish Fry in Cortland has run a food truck, with two of them covering CNY, the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier/Twin Tiers, and Central Leatherstocking Regions. They often will support a charity, school or school club, church, fire department, sports team, civic or non-profit organization. It is separately managed from the Skaneateles flagship. The trucks run during the week. I wait for it to be close to town on a Friday. It's always on Onondaga Hill the third Friday of the month. I also go to their stand at the State Fair each year. The trucks don't offer chicken, macaroni cheese or ice creams like at the two brick and mortars since there just isn't room for it all. You can order online and get delivery through the Toast app if going over isn't an option because of work, time, or transport issues if available in your area when it comes. Loyal customers show up on the day, particularly Friday (big with the over-60s). Capital counterpart Teds have their own trailer, but they mainly book festivals and events, which can occur at the weekends, but more on them later. Dougs once did Taste of Syracuse, and late founder Doug Clark was there to boot, but they never touch city soil anymore, likely because getting a permit can be a hurdle, especially downtown, where it gets competitive, and the permanent restaurants anywhere dread takeaways on wheels taking off their business. Another place used to have their own stop nearby, whose own building is across town from an even more well known chippy, also disappeared. Dougs can be hired too, and these things are always arranged in advance. Lately in Onondaga County, we've been spoilt having them on Fridays and other days almost every week that it got too easy, and now I have to cut it down to once or twice a month so it doesn't get boring and expensive (it all adds up these days, you know).

We may not have the big fish chains in the immediate area, but we have Dougs to call our own.

Dougs formerly had up to four other locations. Three spun off as JDs Fish 'n Grill (he retired).

Mattydale - US 11, kmart Plaza (was never JDs; replaced by Fremont [East Syracuse] location)

Baldwinsville (Moyers Corners) - NY 31 & CR 57; previously Hardees; Cams Pizzeria and Tim Hortons; now Splash Car Wash Express

Fairmount - NY 297; now M. Asciotis Meat Market (successor to Solvay one down Milton Ave)

East Syracuse (Fremont) - NY 290 & Butternut Dr.; later Touch of Broadway; now Empire Pizza and Deli

Food Club: 80 Years On

Ft Knox tin of Food Club Brand Chefs Blend Coffee from the '50s (saw an even older one on Pinterest)

 Food Club brand used to be sold all over CNY at P&C, Big M, Great American/Victory Markets (an Instagram post from an '80s account taken in Otsego County got me going) and Hometown Markets. I wrote about Topcos arrival in the area in 1993 years before when Penn Traffic retired Commander Foods (which P&C had since the '60s at least if I'm not mistaken). While their other brands remain at Tops, Price Chopper, Grand Union and other chains in limited form, Food Club has been elusive here in recent memory. When Tops took over Penn Traffic in 2010, C&S acquired Big M and brought in Best Yet. As with many generics, some products level up to the brand names, while others not so much (you know how it is). It was founded in 1945 by the end of WWII as the economy was to rebound again.

Food Clubs site only lists Long Islands King Kullen and Weis Markets in the Southern Tier/Twin Tiers (to a lesser extent since they have their own store brands of most staples) as the only chains in the state that carry it today. Non-profit indie Brady Market on Syracuses near west side in the former Nojaim Bros (which carried it in the old days as the last surviving Hometown Market, Nojaims having just closed the Marcellus store and buried two family members) is the last holdout here, although it's likely Piggly Wiggly in Watertown of all places could have it too since the Midwestern locations do (the North Country store used to be P&C, then Tops, and is part of that division via the Great Lakes).

If the non-profit store in Uticas West End Bargain Grocery doesn't have a private label partner, I suppose they could also get a deal. Don't know if Topco will offer Food Club à la carte like with the sister brands. Wegmans discontinued their soft drinks (the seltzer and sparkling water remain), and Food Club could replace them, yet I remember Wegmans WPop ('90s branding) being streets ahead of the other generics (you probably don't get that in Consumer Reports, but sometimes on random websites now). A few Food Club items wound up on the bargain shelf at one Tops store, likely because of common manufacturing facilities. Then it could happen that the current P&C Fresh could carry Food Club since P&C and Grand Union are both in Cortland and have Best Yet (along with a small place in Homer), while Ithaca just has P&C and not the other in generations unless they or Weis buy the former Tops across town. I used to have less trouble getting the even rarer Hy-Top, which was at Chanatrys in Utica (Bargains only full-sized locally-owned competitor) and Shop 'n Save (that's one for another day). Now Chanatrys have switched to Food Club along with the sister brands that their former immediate competitor had carried in the past (they're too far apart now). I picked up my fizzy water to show you (P&Cs Commander Foods used to have Party Club for sodas, which is mentioned in the old article. It was once a store in its own right).

It would take someone starting their own place and getting all Topco to bring Food Club back to our backyard more often, but it could be down to warehouses/wholesalers. Now Tops have a few Food Club items with a new logo (pictured bottom), bringing the brand back to many stores that had it under the old guard. It goes to show how something can be on every corner one day and piecemeal or gone the next. Their social media tries to glamourise their products as a far cry from the austere or even plain text bargain label products of the '70s and '80s. These days, any generics will do as people try to stretch their dollars wherever they can.

Food Club today in a one litre fizzy.

New logo with new address to boot.